The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and the Saint Mary’s Gaels meet Tuesday in college basketball action from McKeon Pavilion. Middle Tennessee is currently 5-6 this season following a loss to Belmont back on December 9. As for Saint Mary’s, they beat UNLV on Saturday to move to 6-5 overall. Let’s get into our Middle Tennessee vs. Saint Mary’s prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
The Raiders started out pretty well this year, winning three of their first four games over Northern Kentucky, Stephen F. Austin and Milligan. After a three-game losing streak to UAB, UIC and Ohio, Middle Tennessee won two of the next three matchups versus Kansas City and Missouri State.
In their latest matchup versus Belmont back on December 9, the Raiders dropped back into the loss column again. Middle Tennessee faced an eight-point deficit at the break and didn’t get any closer in a 75-65 loss. Leading the way was Elias King with 27 points and five rebounds.
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Saint Mary’s Gaels
Over on the Gaels’ side, they were only able to win three of their first eight games this year. The losses in that time came versus Weber State, San Diego State, Xavier, Utah and Boise State. Saint Mary’s hit their stride in the next pair however, taking out Cleveland State and Colorado State.
Saint Mary’s was able to keep it up with another victory on Saturday versus UNLV. This one was tough though, as it took the Gaels two overtimes to power out a 69-67 result. Mitchell Saxen doubled up in the win with 23 points and 16 rebounds, while Alex Ducas added 11 points and four boards.
ANDREW’S FREE MIDDLE TENNESSEE VS SAINT MARY’S PREDICTION
I’ll take a stab on Saint Mary’s. The Gaels are coming off a gritty win versus UNLV, but it wasn’t pretty at all. Saint Mary’s notched just 31.6 percent shooting from the field in that one with an abysmal 5.3 percent (1-of-19) from outside. The 68-33 rebounding edge carried the Gaels to the finish line, though. Saint Mary’s is going to have to keep Middle Tennessee in check offensively here as well.
Speaking of the Raiders, they haven’t cracked 65 points in three of their last four games. Middle Tennessee can score well in the right matchups this year, but this one’s going to be tough to find much room on the scoreboard.