Utah vs Saint Mary’s College Basketball Betting Odds & Game Preview

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Mondays are always a bit slow around college basketball and that’s the case this week as well, but there is one excellent late night matchup between expected NCAA Tournament teams as Utah of the Pac-12 visits WCC preseason favorite Saint Mary’s. 2023 NCAA Basketball Betting & Expert Analysis Utah vs Saint Mary’s | MyBookie Sportsbook College Basketball Regular Season: November 6, 2023 – March 17, 2024 | Week 4 NCAAB

How to Bet Utah at Saint Mary’s NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info

When: Monday, 11 PM ET
Where: University Credit Union Pavilion, Moraga
TV: ESPNU
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: Tunein.com
Opening NCAAB Lines: SMC -3.5 (total 134.5)

Last Meeting

Saint Mary’s is 15-3 all-time vs. Utah, but the Utes won the last meeting 67-58 in overtime in the 2018 NIT Tournament quarterfinals in Moraga.

Why Bet on Utah Utes?

The Utes (3-2) haven’t played since a 91-82 loss to St. John’s on Nov. 19 in the third place game of the Charleston Classic in South Carolina. The Runnin’ Utes came out of intermission with 7-0 run on to get within 52-50 of St. John’s, which forced a Johnnies timeout (17:46). That timeout, however, did not help as Utah finished off the 11-0 run when Cole Bajema weaved his way into the lane for the basket and gave the Utes their first lead since the first half (54-52).

Utah continued to battle against an aggressive St. John’s team and cut its lead down to 63-60 with 12:23 on the clock when Branden Carlson knocked down a pair of free-throws. However, the Johnnies once again answered Utah’s push and extended its lead back into the double-digit range, 86-72, behind three-straight triples to force a Utah timeout with 4:11 left in the game. St. John’s tacked on two more baskets to complete the 9-0 run to go ahead 89-72 but the Utes continued to battle with an 8-0 run of their own before the horn rang with Utah falling 91-82.

Carlson finished with a game-high 22 points and 8 rebounds behind 8-of-10 shooting from the charity stripe. Cole Bajema chipped in with 14 points and 3 steals on 5-of-10 shooting. Rollie Worster added 12 points, 7 boards and 5 steals while Gabe Madsen added 11 points and 5 rebounds of his own. Utah converted 16 St. John’s turnovers into 24 points but the Utes lost the battle of the glass 42-32.

After a stellar weekend in Charleston averaging 23.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks, Carlson was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week. He finished the tournament with 70 total points in three games – which ranked ninth-most in tournament history. It also marked the second Pac-12 Player of the Week award for Carlson in his career and the third overall weekly honor ever after garnering player of the week last season and a freshman of the week award as well.

Carlson now has 1,376 career points. He’s now chasing Jerry Chambers (1964-66; 1,400) for a spot in the top-20 all-time at Utah. Carlson ranks 7th among active Division I players with 192 career blocks and 25th overall with a 1.67 blocks average. When compared to active players across Division I, II and III, Carlson ranks 11th-overall in blocks as well.

Utah is the second-tallest team in the country according to KenPom with an average height of 79.4 and trails just Florida State (79.5). Utah is 1-of-11 teams in the country at the Division I level to have multiple 7-footers on its team. Colorado transfer Lawson Lovering stands at 7-1 while Carlson checks in at 7-0. Despite all that size, the team ranks 11th in the NCAA, committing just 13 fouls per game, as the team demonstrates great discipline in their interior defense.

With two seasons under his belt as a Runnin’ Ute, Worster has dished out a total of 245 assists in 61 games for an assists average of 4.0 – which ties him for 7th with Josh Watkins (2010-12) in the all-time record book at Utah.

Bet Utah to Win
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Who Bet on Saint Mary’s Gaels?

The Gaels (3-3) snapped a three-game losing streak with an 89-55 home win over Davidson on Friday. Everything went right for SMC to start the contest, opening the game on a 21-5 run over the first 6:15 and shooting 75% from the field over that stretch. Davidson cleaned up their act towards the latter part of the first half, but the Gaels kept their hot play going, taking a 44-20 lead into the break. Saint Mary’s had two in double figures in the first half, as Augustas Marciulionis dropped 15, and Alex Ducas scored 11 while dishing out three assists.

Mitchell Saxen reached a double-double early in the second half, as the Gaels kept the pedal to the metal in the second frame. By the final horn, every active Gael touched the court and recorded at least one positive stat.

Alex Ducas with the biggest offensive threat for the Gaels with 23 points on a career-high seven made three-pointers. Ducas also tied a career best, with five assists. Joining Ducas in double figures were Aidan Mahaney (17), Marciulionis (17) and Saxen (12). Marciulionis’ scoring output was a new career high, while Saxen logged his first double-double of the season, with 12 points and 11 boards. Mahaney has been named to the Jerry West, John Wooden and Naismith Award watchlists to open the season.

The Gaels rank in top-25 in the NCAA in 3 different stat categories: rebounds per game (44.8, 25th), offensive rebounds per game (16.4, 20th) and scoring defense (58.4, 20th). Saxen is averaging 4.8 offensive rebounds per game, ranking him 6th in the nation. The Gaels are +85 in rebounding margin. They have twice recorded at least 50 rebounds per game. Against Davidson, the Gaels were an astonishing +26 in rebounding margin. In games that they’ve won the rebounding battle this season, the Gaels are 3-2.

Saint Mary’s was selected to finish atop the WCC standings, marking the first time since 2017-18 that the Gaels were selected as preseason conference favorites. Mahaney, Ducas and Saxen were all named to the preseason All-WCC team. SMC has a 124-46 record (.729) winning percentage against nonconference opponents over the last 10 years.

Removing the season opening victory against NCAA DII Stanislaus State, the Gaels look like two very different teams between halves one and two. In the first half of games, Saint Mary’s is +15 in scoring, while in the second, the Gaels are -47.

Bet Saint Mary’s to Win
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College Basketball Expert Prediction

Saint Mary’s 68, Utah 62

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