Sign In $
College Basketball

Saint Mary’s Gaels vs. UCLA Bruins Picks, Predictions, Odds

Daniel Dobish
Daniel Dobish Sports Betting Expert
6 minute read

The Saint Mary's Gaels (26-7) of the West Coast Conference (WCC) will meet the UCLA Bruins (26-7) of the Pac-12 Conference in second-round action in the NCAA Tournament. Tip-off is scheduled for Saturday at 7:10 p.m. ET at Moda Center in Portland, Ore., and the game can be viewed on TBS.

Sign up to get daily betting columns directly to your inbox!

Score Prediction

Saint Mary's 67, UCLA 64

Best Bet

Saint Mary's +130 ML
Saint Mary's +3 (-110)
Over 126 (-108)

NCAA Tournament Expert Picks | NIT Tournament Picks

MARCH MADNESS BETTING RESOURCES

SAINT MARY'S GAELS vs. UCLA BRUINS PREDICTIONS

Saint Mary's picked up an impressive 82-53 blowout win over Indiana in the first round, easily covering a 2.5-point number as the OVER connected for the third time in as many postseason games. SMC shot 52% (31-of-60) from the field, including 48% (10-of-21) from downtown, while turning it over just nine times. The Gaels also outrebounded the Hoosiers at a 36-to-25 clip. Logan Johnson led the way with 20 points, one of four scorers in double digits.

UCLA was not nearly as impressive, narrowly escaping an upset bid from Akron.. The Bruins won 57-53, and they were never covering, or threating to cover, the 13.5-point number at any point. UCLA hit just 35% (19-of-54) from the floor, while going 36% (8-of-22), while cashing in at an 85% (11-of-13) clip from the charity stripe. The good news is that UCLA turned it over just seven times while the Zips of the MAC outrebounded the Bruins at a 34-to-28 clip.

SAINT MARY'S GAELS vs. UCLA BRUINS BETTING ODDS

More Odds | Futures Odds

SAINT MARY'S GAELS vs. UCLA BRUINS BETTING RESOURCES

  • Date: Saturday, March 19, 2022
  • Matchup: No. 5 vs. No. 4
  • Region: East
  • Venue: Moda Center
  • Location: Portland, Ore.
  • TV-Time: TBS - 7:10 p.m. ET

SAINT MARY'S GAELS BETTING ANALYSIS

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

  • SU: 26-7
  • ATS: 20-10-2
  • O/U: 16-15-1

The Gaels head into this one as an underdog, a role it has had some success. In the past three games as a 'dog, all against Gonzaga, SMC is 1-0-2 ATS at most shops since Feb. 12, winning one of the games outright. Overall on the season as an underdog, the Gaels are 6-3 ATS in nine games.

The Gaels are 3-1-1 ATS in the past five games overall, while going 9-3-2 ATS in the previous 14 games against teams with a winning overall record. They're 0-4 ATS in the past four games in the NCAA Tournament as an underdog, however.

For totals, the OVER is 11-5-1 in the past 17 games overall, while the UNDER is 9-4 in the past 13 neutral-site games while going 51-18 in the previous 69 as an underdog. The UNDER is 7-2 in the past nine games in the NCAA Tournament, while going 5-0 in the past five Big Dance outings as an underdog.

UCLA BRUINS BETTING ANALYSIS

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

  • SU: 26-7
  • ATS: 17-15-1
  • O/U: 16-17

The Bruins have failed to cover the past two games. It hasn't failed to cover three or more in a row since an 0-4-1 ATS skid from Jan. 6-20. The non-cover against the Zips snapped a 6-0 ATS run for the Bruins in the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins are still 7-3 ATS across the past 10 games as a favorite.

For totals, the OVER has hit in five of the previous seven outings, although, again, the UNDER cashed in the win over Akron. The UNDER is 18-6 in the past 24 NCAA Tournament games as a favorite, while going 7-3 in the past 10 games overall in the Big Dance. The OVER is 4-1 in the past five games following a straight-up win, while going 5-1 in the past six games following a non-cover.

The UNDER is 7-3 in the past 10 NCAA Tournament games for UCLA. (AP)

INSIDE THE STATS - SAINT MARY'S GAELS

  • Record: 26-7
  • PS/G: 70.1 (206th)
  • PA/G: 60.3 (9th)

INSIDE THE STATS - UCLA BRUINS

  • Record: 26-7
  • PS/G: 75.8 (54th)
  • PA/G: 64.5 (41st)

KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH

  • SMC: Tommy Kuhse - G (11.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.6 APG, 50.2 FG%, 44.9 3P%)
  • SMC: Matthias Tass - F (12.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.0 APG, 54.5 FG%, 79.2 FT%)
  • UCLA: Jaime Jaquez, Jr. - G (13.3 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.1 SPG, 48.1 FG%)
  • UCLA: Johnny Juzang - G (16.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.8 APG, 36.4 3P%, 84.1 FT%)

SAINT MARY'S GAELS vs. UCLA BRUINS BETTING CONCLUSION

Saint Mary's looked awfully impressive in tossing around Indiana in the opening round. UCLA was less than stellar against Akron, and it was very lucky not to have fallen to the 13-seed in a huge upset. UCLA should be much better not that it is warmed up, but against a much better defensive team, the Bruins might be in a world of hurt.

In this intra-California matchup in Portland, it's hard not to like the Gaels. This team has a win over Gonzaga, the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, and now it has a win over Indiana, two wins over San Francisco and a victory over Notre Dame and Texas Southern, also NCAA Tournament teams. The Bruins have had their impressive moments this season, too, but they looked awfully mortal against a mediocre Zips team. Look for a mild upset here.

MARCH MADNESS PICK RESOURCES

SAINT MARY'S GAELS vs. UCLA BRUINS BETTING TRENDS

  • Saint Mary's is 3-1-1 ATS in the past five games overall.
  • Saint Mary's is 2-0-2 ATS in the past four as an underdog.
  • Saint Mary's is 9-3-2 ATS in the past 14 games vs. winning teams.
  • Saint Mary's is 0-4 ATS in the past four NCAA Tournament games as a 'dog.
  • UCLA is 7-3 in the past 10 games as a favorite.
  • UCLA is 6-1 ATS in the past seven NCAA Tournament games.
  • The OVER is 11-5-1 in the past 17 games for Saint Mary's.
  • The UNDER is 7-2 in the past nine NCAA Tournament games for Saint Mary's.
  • The UNDER is 9-4 in the past 13 neutral-site games for Saint Mary's.
  • The UNDER is 5-0 in the past five NCAA Tournament games as a 'dog for Saint Mary's.
  • The OVER is 5-2 in the past seven games overall for UCLA.
  • The UNDER is 7-3 in the past 10 NCAA Tournament games for UCLA.
  • The UNDER is 18-6 in the past 24 NCAA Tournament games for UCLA as a favorite.

College Basketball News

Daniel Dobish

Daniel Dobish

Dan is a handicapper and sports betting expert for VegasInsider with years of experience writing for a number of top publications in the industry. More from Daniel Dobish
•