The No. 21 Saint Mary’s Gaels (24-7) and the Santa Clara Broncos (20-12) battle in a West Coast Conference semifinal Monday. Tip from Orleans Arena in Las Vegas is set for 9 p.m. ET (ESPN). Below, we analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s'lines around the Santa Clara vs. Saint Mary’s odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.
Saint Mary’s is No. 21 in the (a new poll will be released Monday afternoon). The Gaels are the No. 1 seed in this tournament despite losing to the Gonzaga Bulldogs 70-57 in their regular-season finale March 2.
The Gaels, who were 3.5-point home favorite in that loss, finished 15-1 in WCC play, while the Bulldogs took 2nd at 14-3. Prior to that defeat, Saint Mary’s won 16 in a row, included 2 wins over Santa Clara.
Saint Mary’s beat Santa Clara by 34 (73-49), covering as a 6.5-point road favorite Jan. 13, and by 5 (82-77), failing to cover as a 13.5-point home fave Jan. 31. The Gaels are 16-13 ATS on the season. G Aidan Mahaney averages a team-high 13.7 points per game (PPG).