Saint Louis vs La Salle 3/10/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The La Salle Explorers & Saint Louis Billikens will square off at Capital One Arena this Thursday afternoon in the 2^nd round of the Atlantic 10 Championship.

The 12-seed La Salle Explorers improved to 11-18 on the season after defeating the 13-seed Saint Joseph’s Hawks, 63-56, this past Wednesday. La Salle was outstanding defensively against Saint Joseph’s and was able to pull away late in the 2^nd half after a 7-0 run gave the Explorers a 60-50 lead with :48 seconds left in regulation. La Salle shot 40.7% from the field & 31.8% from beyond the arc while holding Saint Joseph’s to just 35.3% shooting from the field & 28.6% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Explorers was Jack Clark who had a double-double with 20 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, & 1 steal.

Coming into their game against Saint Joseph’s, La Salle was averaging 68.2 ppg on 41.7% shooting from the field. The Hawks were averaging 7.9 three-pointers per game on 32.3% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, La Salle has been led by Clifton Moore (13.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, 2.8 bpg), Jack Clark (12.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.2 spg), Josh Nickelberry (11.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg), & Jhamir Brickus (9.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.5 apg).

Defensively, prior to their game against Saint Joseph’s, La Salle was allowing their opponents to average 72.1 ppg on 43.7% shooting from the field. The Explorers have a rebound margin of 0.9 and a turnover margin of -1.4.

The Saint Louis Billikens finished their regular season with an overall record of 21-10 and earned the 5-seed in the Atlantic 10 Championship after finishing conference play with an 12-6 conference record. Saint Louis finished their non-conference portion of their schedule with a 9-4 record with their best win coming in an 86-82 OT victory over Boise State. Saint Louis had a strong start to conference play, winning 8 of their first 10 games, and come into the Atlantic 10 Championship winning 3 of their last 4 games which includes a 69-65 win over VCU in their regular season finale.

On the season, Saint Louis is averaging 77.5 ppg on 46.3% shooting from the field. The Billikens are averaging 6.8 three-pointers per game on 37.3% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Saint Louis has been led by Gibson Jimerson (16.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg), Yuri Collins (11.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 8.0 apg, 2.1 spg), Francis Okoro (10.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.2 bpg), & Fred Thatch Jr. (9.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.1 spg).

Defensively, Saint Louis is allowing their opponents to average 67.9 ppg on 42.2% shooting from the field. The Billikens have a rebound margin of 6.5 and are averaging 6.7 steals per game.

The Explorers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall, however, are just 6-15 ATS in their last 21 neutral site games. The Billikens are 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 games overall & 20-6 ATS in their last 26 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400.

Saint Louis defeated La Salle in their only regular season matchup this season as the Billikens defeated the Explorers by a 90-64 margin in early February.

La Salle has been playing some solid basketball as of late, however, this is still a team that ranks just 251^st in both scoring offense, 291^st in FG%, & 251^st in scoring defense. Saint Louis has been outstanding on the offensive end this season, ranking 38^th in scoring offense & 58^th in FG% and as I expect the Billikens to have no issue putting up points against the La Salle defense in this one, I’m taking Saint Louis to cover this large spread. Good Luck!