UConn vs Saint Mary's (CA) Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for March 19 NCAA Tournament Game (Huskies Start Off Hot)

UConn vs Saint Mary's (CA) Game Info

• 2022-23 NCAA Tournament Game
• No. 4 UConn (26-8) vs. No. 5 Saint Mary's (CA) (27-7)
• Date: Sunday, March 19, 2023
• Time: 6:10 PM ET
• Venue: MVP Arena -- Albany, New York
• Coverage: TNT

The second round of the 2022-23 NCAA Tournament features an exciting matchup between the No. 4 UConn Huskies and No. 5 Saint Mary's Gaels.

Neither team had an issue moving on from Round 1. UConn scored at will in its 87-63 blowout win over No. 13 Iona, highlighted by Adama Sanogo's 28-point, 13-rebound double-double. On the other side, Saint Mary's didn't show any signs of letting up as it sent the No. 12 VCU packing in a 63-51 contest.

Can UConn continues its March Madness run? Or will Saint Mary's reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2010?

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

• All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: UCONN: (-166) | STMARY: (+138)
• Spread: UCONN: -3.5 (-110) | STMARY: +3.5 (-110)
• Total: 128.5 -- Over: (-105) | Under: (-115)

UConn enters this contest as a slight favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 6:10 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 128.5 points with the under being favored at -115 odds.

UConn vs Saint Mary's (CA) Betting Trends

• UConn's record against the spread is 22-12-0.
• As 3.5-point favorites or more, the Huskies are 19-11 against the spread.
• There have been 19 UConn's games (out of 34) that hit the over this season.
• Against the spread, Saint Mary's (CA) is 18-15-0 this year.
• The Gaels have one win ATS (1-1) as a 3.5-point underdog or more this season.
• Saint Mary's (CA) has played 33 games this year, and 16 of them have hit the over.

UConn Rank	UConn AVG		Saint Mary's (CA) AVG	Saint Mary's (CA) Rank
28th	78.7	Points Scored	71.1	190th
41st	65.0	Points Allowed	59.9	5th
11th	36.1	Rebounds	32.5	131st
2nd	11.9	Off. Rebounds	9.1	122nd
29th	9.1	3pt Made	7.6	152nd
4th	17.5	Assists	12.6	212th
216th	12.2	Turnovers	9.6	17th

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

While Saint Mary's has the fourth-best scoring defense in the country, it's allowed an average of six more points than it normally does over the last three games. Now, the Gaels have to go up against a dangerous UConn offense. The Huskies put up 78.7 PPG (No. 20) while hitting 46.1% of their field goals (No. 65) and 35.9% of three-point attempts (No. 80).

UConn also allows 39.1 rebounds per contest (No. 12), whereas Saint Mary's has averaged just 31.7 RPG in its last three outings. The Gaels' inability to handle the Huskies in the paint could lead to some foul trouble. That would be terrible for Randy Bennett's team since Connecticut sinks 75.7% of its free throws (No. 45).

At the end of the day, UConn's shooting and rebounding will be too much for Saint Mary's to deal with. The Gaels will make it look close at times, but the Huskies will eventually pull away before moving on.

Final Score Prediction: UConn: 73 | Saint Mary's: 68

UConn vs Saint Mary's (CA) Best Bet

UConn can solidify its chances of success with a strong start. While Saint Mary's averages a plus-6.4 scoring margin at halftime (No. 18), Connecticut sits at No. 2 with a plus-9.9 clip. The Huskies average half-time margin away from home (plus-6.2) is also noticeably better than that of Saint Mary's (plus-2.3).

With an offense that's hard to stop once it gets going, look for UConn to be in the lead after the first 20 minutes.

Bet: First-Half Spread — UConn -1.5 (-110)

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.