The No. 1 seed Saint Mary's Gaels (24-7) will face the No. 4 seed Santa Clara Broncos (20-12) in the 2024 West Coast Conference Tournament semifinals on Monday night. Saint Mary's suffered its lone conference loss in a 70-57 setback against then-No. 23 Gonzaga in a regular-season finale, but the Gaels had already clinched the WCC regular-season title. Santa Clara finished fourth in the standings, and it advanced to the semifinals with a win over San Diego in the quarterfinals. The Broncos were blown out by the Gaels at home in January before losing by five points on the road two weeks later.
Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. ET on Monday at Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada. Saint Mary's is favored by 9 points in the latest Saint Mary's vs. Santa Clara odds, while the over/under is 134.5 points, per SportsLine consensus. Before entering any Santa Clara vs. Saint Mary's picks, you'll want to see the NCAA Basketball predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters Week 18 of the 2023-24 season on a 141-100 roll on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to last season, returning more than $1,700 for $100 players. It is also off to a sizzling 26-17 start on top-rated spread picks this season. Anyone following has seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Santa Clara vs. Saint Mary's. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball betting lines for the game:
- Saint Mary's vs. Santa Clara spread: Saint Mary's -9
- Saint Mary's vs. Santa Clara over/under: 134.5 points
- Saint Mary's vs. Santa Clara money line: Saint Mary's -479, Santa Clara +359
- Saint Mary's vs. Santa Clara picks: See picks here
Why Saint Mary's can cover
Saint Mary's established itself as the best team in the conference during an impressive regular season, with its only conference loss coming against Gonzaga after it had already clinched the title. The Gaels earned a bye to the semifinals of the WCC Tournament, so they will have a rest advantage on Monday night. They are led by junior point guard Augustas Marciulionis, who averaged 12.4 points and 5.1 assists to earn WCC Player of the Year honors.
Head coach Randy Bennett was named the WCC Coach of the Year, while forward Mitchell Saxen was the league's Defensive Player of the Year after blocking 42 shots. The Gaels are led in scoring by Aidan Mahaney, who earned first-team All-WCC honors for the second consecutive season. They have covered the spread in six of their last eight games, and they have won five straight games against Santa Clara.
Why Santa Clara can cover
Santa Clara was blown out by Saint Mary's at home in the first meeting of the season, but it had a much more impressive performance in the rematch. The Broncos easily covered the 14-point spread in an 82-77 loss, putting together a furious second-half rally after trailing by 22 points at halftime. They won four of their final six games in the regular season, including a 69-62 win over San Francisco as 2.5-point underdogs in their finale.
The Broncos cruised to a 104-79 win over San Diego in the WCC Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday, powered by 24 points and six rebounds from junior guard Adama Bal. He leads the team with 14.8 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, while senior guard Carlos Marshall Jr. (12.8) and junior forward Johnny O'Neil (11.3) are both scoring in double figures as well. Santa Clara is 10-2-1 against the spread in its last 13 games, and it has covered in eight of its last 11 games against Saint Mary's. See which team to pick here.
How to make Saint Mary's vs. Santa Clara picks
The model has simulated Santa Clara vs. Saint Mary's 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Over, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 50% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Saint Mary's vs. Santa Clara, and which side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the model that is on a 141-100 roll on its top-ranked college basketball picks, and find out.
