The Saint Mary’s Gaels and the UConn Huskies meet Sunday in NCAA Tournament Second Round action from Times Union Center. Saint Mary’s comes into this game at 27-7 overall. The Gaels beat VCU in their Friday tournament matchup. As for UConn, they’re 26-8 on the season following a First Round win over Iona on Friday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Saint Mary’s Gaels
Saint Mary’s posted a 25-6 run across the regular season. The Gaels closed out with a four-game win streak before a loss to Gonzaga 77-68. In the West Coast Tournament, Saint Mary’s beat BYU 76-69 before another loss to Gonzaga 77-51.
In their NCAA Tournament First Round matchup versus VCU on Friday, the Gaels held a slim 29-28 edge going into the second half. Saint Mary’s hit a 34-23 advantage from there and won it 63-51. Both Mitchell Saxen and Alex Ducas put up 17 points each, and Logan Johnson added 12 points with 10 rebounds.
UConn Huskies
Over on the UConn side, they finished off the regular season at 24-7 overall. The Huskies finished off with a five-game win streak, then beat Providence 73-66 in the Big East Tournament. UConn followed that up with a loss to Marquette 70-68 last Friday.
In the Friday tournament matchup versus Iona, UConn went into the break down 39-37. The Huskies went off on a 50-24 run from there and won it 87-63. Leading the way was Adama Sanogo, doubling up on 28 points and 13 rebounds.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I might try Saint Mary’s in this one. The Gaels played a pretty solid game against VCU on Friday, ultimately shooting 40.8 percent from the field with 37 rebounds and 13 team assists. Saint Mary’s shot just 3-of-17 (17.6 percent) from 3-point range and 20-of-27 (74.1 percent) from the line and had 12 turnovers, though. Still, the Gaels are scoring fairly well lately with 68 or more points in four of their last six outings. As for UConn, they didn’t have much trouble after halftime in their First Round matchup. The Huskies ended up shooting 48.5 percent from the field with a 45-29 rebounding advantage (14-7 offensive) and 24 team assists. UConn should be on point here, but I like Saint Mary’s to follow along on a cover pace.