Pepperdine Waves (10-16) vs. St. Mary's Gaels (20-6)
February 15, 2024 11:00 pm EDT
The Line: St. Mary's Gaels -20; Over/Under: 133.5
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The Pepperdine Waves and the Saint Mary’s Gaels meet Thursday in college basketball action from McKeon Pavilion. The Waves are fresh off a win over Loyola Marymount which improved Pepperdine to 10-16 overall. As for Saint Mary’s, they’re sitting at 20-6 after a win over Portland on Saturday. Let’s get into our Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary’s prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Pepperdine Waves
The Waves have had a pretty choppy season so far. Pepperdine kicked off the year on a 7-8 run but since then have gone just 3-8 in their last 11 outings. The losses in that time have come versus Gonzaga (twice), Santa Clara (twice), LMU, San Diego, Portland and San Francisco.
Pepperdine was able to get back into the win column versus LMU in their rematch on Saturday. Following a 30-29 edge in the first half, the Waves hit a 42-34 run in the second for a 72-63 win. Leading team scorer Michael Ajayi posted 17 points with 13 rebounds in 40 minutes of action.
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Saint Mary’s Gaels
Over on the Gaels’ side, they’ve been doing quite well this year. Saint Mary’s did lose six of their first 14 games, but since then they’ve been on a win streak over Kent State, San Diego, LMU (twice), Portland (twice), Santa Clara (twice), San Francisco and Pacific (twice) in the last dozen outings.
In their latest matchup versus Portland back on Saturday, the Gaels didn’t have too many issues. Saint Mary’s was up 38-26 in the locker room, then finished off on a 38-25 run for a 76-51 victory. Tops on the team was Aidan Mahaney with 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
ANDREW’S FREE PEPPERDINE VS SAINT MARY’S PREDICTION
I’ll stay with the Gaels, but the line’s a little too thick to mess with. Saint Mary’s is on a tear right now and coming off a blowout victory over Portland. The Gaels didn’t shoot all that well from the field (40.6 percent) but they were great on defense with a 46-31 rebounding advantage and 31.6 percent shooting allowed. Saint Mary’s has scored 68 or more points in all but two games during this current win streak.
As for Pepperdine, they’re coming off a much-needed win themselves. Despite the rough record recently the Waves haven’t been scoring too badly; 67 or more points in five straight games. That said, Saint Mary’s should be comfortable at home here and I don’t think Pepperdine will keep pace if the Gaels are on point.
