NCAAB: #23 Gonzaga vs #17 St. Mary’s Odds, and Picks (Mar 2)

• Gonzaga improved to 12-1 in their last 13 games, after clobbering San Francisco 86-68.
• St. Mary’s holds a 16-game winning streak, longer than any other team in the country.
• These two teams last matched up on February 3, in a game that Saint Mary’s won 64-62.

Selection Sunday is just a few weeks away! Let’s look at this WCC brawl between the Gonzaga Bulldogs and the Saint Mary’s Gaels. Both teams are on track to make the tourney, but can still improve their seed.

How to Watch

• ESPN

Preview

Gonzaga continues to climb in the projected tournament field, now sitting safely off the bubble as a 9-seed. The Zags may lack ranked wins, but their quality losses have resulted in metrics ranking in the top-20. Combined with key road victories against Kentucky and San Francisco recently, and they are on track to make their 25th consecutive tournament. A win here against St. Mary’s would all but lock up their spot.

St. Mary’s continues to hold the nation’s longest winning streak, now at 16 games. They’ve already locked up the WCC’s regular season title, holding a 2-game lead over Gonzaga entering this season finale. They have a chance to enter the WCC Tournament with a perfect 16-0 record in conference play if they can win here. The Gaels currently project as a 5-6 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but can still climb even further.

Prediction

This should be another excellent rendition of what is a classic basketball rivalry in the WCC. St. Mary’s has a notable advantage, having already won the first game between the two at Gonzaga. Now at home, the Gaels would typically be expected to win by an even larger margin. That being said, I smell a trap here. Gonzaga is playing their best basketball of the season, and St. Mary’s is due for a loss. I’ll take the Zags.

NCAAB Picks:

• Gonzaga 73, St. Mary’s 68 (ZAGA +2.5)