Saint Mary’s Gaels vs Santa Clara Broncos Matchup

Read on to get betting odds and analysis in our Saint Mary's vs Santa Clara NCAA Basketball prediction and preview and see who we think will win and cover the spread in Santa Clara.

Saint Mary's vs Santa Clara Prediction

Making on a bet on this NCAA game featuring the Gaels versus the Broncos? Tip off is at at 9:00 ET, and you can watch it all unfold on ESPNU. The game will be played at Leavey Center in Santa Clara, CA. Saint Mary's is favored by -4.5 in this West Coast conference contest against Santa Clara. The game's over/under currently sits at 138.5 points.

Saint Mary's vs. Santa Clara Matchup At A Glance

Sport: NCAAB
Teams: Saint Mary's Gaels at Santa Clara Broncos
Where: Santa Clara at Leavey Center
Date: Wednesday, January 29th
Betting Odds STMRY -4.5, STMRY -200 | SANCLR +163 O/U 138.5

Gaels Preview: Will Saint Mary's Make it Happen on the Road?

Saint Mary's Gaels Recent Game/Games

The Gaels improved to 17-3 on the season with an 80-75 road win over Washington State on Saturday. Despite being -6 favorites, they didn’t cover the spread.

Saint Mary's trailed 38-35 at halftime but turned things around by scoring 45 points in the 2nd half while holding the Cougars to 37. The total points for the game hit 155, going over the 142.5 O/U line.

Gaels Offense Breakdown

Saint Mary's put up 80 points in their last game, shooting 57.7% from the field and posting an effective field goal percentage of 65.4%. They connected on 65.7% of their two-point attempts and hit 41.2% from beyond the arc, going 7-for-17. At the free-throw line, they were nearly perfect, making 13 of 14 attempts for a 92.9% success rate.

Paulius Murauskas led the way with 25 points and 12 rebounds, shooting 60% from the field and 37.5% from three. Ethan Price added 20 points, hitting 4 of 7 from deep, while Augustas Marciulionis contributed 17 points and 7 assists, shooting 60% from three-point range.

Gaels Team Defense

Saint Mary's Gaels struggled defensively, giving up 75 points while allowing their opponent to shoot 57% from the field. The Gaels couldn't contain the inside game, with their opponent hitting 62% of their two-point shots (22/35).

From beyond the arc, Saint Mary's allowed 6 threes on 14 attempts, a 42% shooting rate. They also sent their opponent to the free-throw line 13 times, where they converted every attempt.

Broncos Preview: Do the Broncos Have What it Takes to Win as Home Underdogs?

Santa Clara Broncos Recent Game/Games

The Broncos fell to 14-8 on the season after an 83-69 loss to Oregon State on Saturday. Santa Clara, who entered the game as +2 point underdogs, not only lost but failed to cover the spread.

Trailing 32-30 at halftime, Santa Clara allowed 51 points in the 2nd half while scoring 39. The game’s total points of 152 went over the pre-game O/U line of 147.5.

Broncos Offense Breakdown

Santa Clara put up 69 points in their last game, shooting 51% from the field with an effective field goal percentage of 61.2%. They were particularly strong inside, hitting 72.7% of their two-point attempts, while connecting on 33.3% from beyond the arc, going 9-for-27.

Michael Rataj led the way with 30 points, shooting 52.9% overall and 40% from three. Nate Kingz added 16 points, hitting 66.7% of his shots. The Broncos finished with 19 assists, but managed just 3 offensive rebounds and shot 62.5% from the free-throw line.

Broncos Team Defense

Santa Clara's defense struggled in their last game, giving up 83 points while allowing the opposition to shoot 54% from the field. The Broncos had particular trouble defending inside, where they conceded 23 two-point baskets on 35 attempts, a 65% shooting rate.

From beyond the arc, Santa Clara held their opponent to 6 made threes on 18 attempts, a 33% shooting performance. However, they sent the other team to the free-throw line 22 times, where they converted 21 of those attempts, a 95% success rate. The Broncos did limit second-chance opportunities, allowing just 4 offensive rebounds.

Gaels vs Broncos Betting Odds, Trends & Analysis

In their last ten games away from home, the Gaels have a straight up record of 9-1 while going 7-3 vs. the spread. The team averaged 78 points per game in this stretch.
Across the Broncos last ten home games, the team averaged 74 points per game while allowing 77. Their record vs the spread in these contests was 4-6, while going 4-6 straight-up.
Santa Clara has done well both straight up and vs the spread when favored to win the game, going 3-2 SU and 3-2 ATS in their last five games.
As the betting favorite, the Gaels have an ATS record of 2-1 in their last three games. In these matchups, their straight up record was 3-0.