Gonzaga vs Saint Mary's (CA) Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for February 25 (Bulldogs Shine in First Half)

Gonzaga vs Saint Mary's (CA) Game Info

• 2022-23 NCAA Basketball Regular Season Game
• No. 12 Gonzaga (24-5, 13-2 WCC) vs. No. 15 Saint Mary's (CA) (25-5, 14-1 WCC)
• Date: Saturday, February 25, 2023
• Time: 10:00 PM ET
• Venue: McCarthey Athletic Center -- Spokane, Washington
• Coverage: ESPN

Saturday, Feb. 25's NCAA college basketball schedule includes a massive WCC showdown between the No. 12 Gonzaga Bulldogs and No. 15 Saint Mary's Gaels.

Both schools have done a lot of winning lately. Saint Mary's notched its fourth straight win with an 83-52 blowout over Pacific on Thursday. Meanwhile, Gonzaga pushed its winning streak to five consecutive games with a 97-72 win against San Diego.

So, which WCC team's streak will still be alive once the dust settles?

Gonzaga vs Saint Mary's (CA) Odds & Spread

• All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: GONZ: (-250) | STMARY: (+202)
• Spread: GONZ: -5.5 (-115) | STMARY: +5.5 (-105)
• Total: 139.5 -- Over: (-115) | Under: (-105)

Gonzaga enters this contest as the clear home favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 10 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 139.5 points with the over being favored at -115 odds.

Gonzaga vs Saint Mary's (CA) Betting Trends

• Gonzaga is 11-17-0 against the spread this year.
• Against the spread as 5.5-point favorites or more, the Bulldogs are 9-14.
• Out of 28 Gonzaga's games so far this year, 17 have hit the over.
• Saint Mary's (CA) has 16 wins in 29 games against the spread this year.
• The Gaels are unbeaten ATS (1-0) as a 5.5-point underdog or greater this year.
• There have been 14 Saint Mary's (CA) games (out of 29) that hit the over this year.

Gonzaga Rank	Gonzaga AVG		Saint Mary's (CA) AVG	Saint Mary's (CA) Rank
1st	87.8	Points Scored	72.0	172nd
296th	74.1	Points Allowed	58.7	4th
68th	33.8	Rebounds	33.3	103rd
131st	9.1	Off. Rebounds	9.3	107th
153rd	7.6	3pt Made	7.9	120th
18th	16.3	Assists	12.8	209th
47th	10.6	Turnovers	9.5	10th

Gonzaga vs Saint Mary's (CA) Prediction & Pick

Gonzaga is just one of those teams that Saint Mary's can't beat consistently. After all, the Gaels have dropped eight of their last 10 meetings against the Bulldogs, being outscored by an average of 12.8 points over that stretch. Even worse is the fact that Saint Mary's has lost four straight games at McCarthey Athletic Center, losing each one by double digits.

It's hard to fathom Saint Mary's luck changing tonight. Gonzaga has won 13 of its 14 home games thus far, averaging more points at home (91.0 PPG) than any other team in the country. The Bulldogs also tied for having the ninth-best home scoring margin (plus-18.8), further showcasing just how badly they dominate the competition in Spokane, WA.

Needless to say, Saint Mary's has a long night ahead. Gonzaga's offense won't slow down at any point, resulting in another victory for the Bulldogs at McCarthey Athletic Center.

Final Score Prediction: Gonzaga: 78 | Saint Mary's: 72

Gonzaga vs Saint Mary's (CA) Best Bet

Gonzaga is one of the best teams in the country when it comes to getting off to a hot start. The Bulldogs pace all NCAA Division-I schools with 42.7 first-half PPG and tend to lead by an average of 13.6 points at halftime when they're at home.

Meanwhile, St. Mary's averages 33.6 first-half points (No. 150), which drops to 31.6 on the road. Even worse is the fact that the Gaels have a minus-18.3 first-half scoring margin in their last four trips to McCarthey Athletic Center.

In other words, I fully expect Gonzaga to be up by a decent amount come halftime.

Bet: First-Half Spread — Gonzaga -2.5 (-134)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.