:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72044828/usa_today_20034461.0.jpg "College basketball picks: BYU-Saint Mary's prediction, odds, spread for WCC Tournament on Monday")
The West Coast Conference Tournament semifinals will tip off this evening as the No. 1 Saint Mary's Gaels square off with the No. 5 BYU Cougars at 9 p.m. ET. The game will take place at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, NV, and will air on ESPN. The winner advances to Tuesday's championship game and will face either No. 2 Gonzaga or No. 6 San Francisco.
Let's take a look at the odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook and make some picks.
BYU vs. Saint Mary's odds in WCC Semifinals
Spread: Saint Mary's -7
Over/Under: 128.5
Moneyline: Saint Mary's -305, BYU +255
BYU (19-14) has picked up a pair of double-digit victories so far in Vegas, last handling Loyola Marymount 73-63 in the quarterfinals on Saturday. The Cougars maintained a healthy lead for most of this contest, eventually pulling away in the final 10 minutes of action to advance in the tourney. They particularly took advantage of their trips to the charity stripe, making 21-of-26 free throw attempts during the evening. Rudi Williams led BYU with 23 points in the win.
Saint Mary's (25-6) had the benefit of earning a bye straight to the semifinals as a regular season co-champion in the WCC. The Gaels put together one of its best regular seasons during the Randy Bennett-era and will be a trendy pick for NCAA Tournament brackets come next week. The metrics back them up as an elite team as they are ranked in the top 10 in both NET and KenPom heading into tonight's matchup, particularly excelling on defense. Saint Mary's swept the season series against BYU, winning a pair of tight games by seven combined points.
The Pick: BYU +7
BYU has been a scrappy team all season and that's evidenced by both its close losses to Saint Mary's during the regular season and its 8-4 record against the spread as an underdog. Something to also consider is that the Gaels could be rusty after a nine-day layoff while the Cougars are in a rhythm having already played two games in the WCC tourney. That's while I'll lean with BYU to cover and make this yet another tight and uncomfortable matchup for the top-seeded Gaels.