BYU vs St. Mary’s 1/8/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
St. Mary's Gaels (12-3) vs. BYU Cougars (13-3)
January 8, 2022 10:00 pm EDT
The Line: BYU Cougars -3.5 / St. Mary's Gaels +3.5; Over/Under: 131.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Saint Mary’s Gaels will travel to the Marriott Center to take on the BYU Cougars this Saturday night in College Basketball action.
The Saint Mary’s Gaels won their 2nd straight game and improved to 12-3 on the season after defeating the Yale Bulldogs, 87-60, on December 28th. Saint Mary’s was outstanding on both ends of the court in the 1st half and had no trouble securing the victory after going into halftime with a 46-25 lead. Saint Mary’s shot 50.0% from the field & 28.6% from beyond the arc while allowing Yale to shoot 46.9% from the field & 35.0% shooting from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Gaels was Logan Johnson who ah 26 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 block, & 4 steals.
On the season, Saint Mary’s is averaging 68.8 ppg on 46.6% shooting from the field. The Gaels are averaging 6.9 three-pointers per game on 33.3% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Saint Mary’s has been led by Matthias Tass (12.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.0 apg), Logan Johnson (10.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.9 spg), Tommy Kuhse (10.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.5 apg), & Kyle Bowen (5.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.3 apg).
Defensively, Saint Mary’s is holding their opponents to an average of 58.1 ppg on 41.2% shooting from the field. The Gaels have a rebound margin of 7.0 and a turnover margin of 0.7.
The BYU Cougars won their 3rd straight game and improved to 13-3 on the season after defeating the Pacific Tigers, 73-51, this past Thursday. BYU was outstanding defensively against Pacific and had no trouble pulling away in the 2nd half after taking a 48-35 lead with 14:58 left in regulation. BYU shot 48.1% from the field & 48.0% from beyond the arc while holding Pacific to just 31.1% shooting from the field & 28.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Cougars was Fousseyni Traore who had a double-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assist, & 3 blocks.
On the season, BYU is averaging 74.3 ppg on 44.7% shooting from the field The Cougars are averaging 8.4 three-pointers per game on 36.5% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, BYU has been led by Alex Barcello (17.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.9 apg), Te’Jon Lucas (10.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 5.0 apg), Spencer Johnson (8.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.1 apg), & Fousseyni Traore (8.0 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.4 bpg).
Defensively, BYU is holding their opponents to an average of 63.1 ppg on 38.8% shooting from the field. The Cougars have a rebound margin of 9.2 and a turnover margin of -1.2.
The Gaels are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games overall, however, are just 2-6 ATS in their last 8 road games. The Cougars are 11-4-1 ATS in their last 16 Saturday games.
Saint Mary’s has been led by their defense which comes into this game ranked 11th in scoring defense & 34th in rebound margin, however, the Gaels have struggled to score at times this season, currently ranking just 255th in scoring offense. BYU has also been led by their defense which currently ranks 62nd in scoring defense & 32nd in defensive FG%, and have also been decent on the offensive end, ranking 133rd in scoring offense & 63rd in 3P-FG%.
Saint Mary’s is a good team, however, they are just 3-3 in road/neutral site games, and we have seen them struggle offensively when they are not at home as in those three losses, the Gaels have averaged just 55.3 ppg. BYU is a prefect 7-0 at home and as I think their defense is going to give Saint Mary’s trouble, I think the Cougars do enough to cover this small spread. Good Luck!
