Check out our free Saint Mary’s vs BYU pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Provo. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.

Saint Mary’s vs BYU Pick & Preview: Saturday, January 28th Betting Odds

Gaels vs Cougars Matchup at a Glance

  • Sport: NCAAB
  • Teams: Saint Mary’s Gaels at BYU Cougars
  • Where: Provo at Marriott Center
  • Date: Saturday, January 28th
  • Betting Odds: Saint Mary’s -6.5, STMRY -292 | BYU +233 O/U 128.5

Gaels Preview:

Through 22 games, the Saint Mary’s Gaels have an overall record of 18-4. On the road, the Gaels will be playing their 5th game of the season, having gone 5-0. This season, Saint Mary’s has been favored to win in 19 games, sitting with a mark of 16-3. For today’s contest, Saint Mary’s has a betting line set -6.5 points in their favor.

Saint Mary’s’ leading scorer this season is Aidan Mahaney, who is averaging 14.95 points per contest. So far, Mahaney has accounted for 20.74% of the team’s scoring. In addition, he is contributing 2.55 rebounds per game and 1.91 assists. Mitchell Saxen is the second leading scorer for the Gaels, averaging 12.64 points per game. Between him and Saxen, they are accounting for 38.3% of the team’s scoring.

Offensive production has been hard to come by for Saint Mary’s this season, as they are currently ranked 246th in college basketball at 69.8 points per game. A major reason for low scoring totals is the fact that they have played at a below average pace, and have struggled to knock down outside shots. As a team, the Gaels’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 35.0%, placing them 185th in the NCAA.

Cougars Preview:

BYU will be looking to pick up a win in today’s game vs Saint Mary’s in order to snap their current 2 game losing streak. Currently, the Cougars have been the home team 17 times, sitting with a record of 12-5. So far, the Cougars have been the underdog 9 times, going 3-6 straight up. Heading into today’s contest, they are the +6.5 underdogs on the spread.

BYU’s leading scorer this season is Rudi Williams, who is averaging 12.78 points per contest. So far, Williams has accounted for 16.98% of the team’s scoring. In addition, he is contributing 2.78 rebounds per game and 3.13 assists. Fousseyni Traore is the second leading scorer for the Cougars, averaging 12.36 points per game. Between him and Traore, they are accounting for 32.7% of the team’s scoring.

On offense, BYU is scoring a rate similar to the NCAA average at 73.7 points per game. This figure has come despite struggling to knock down shots from outside. Through 23 games, they have only hit 35.4% of their 3-point field goal attempts. For the season, 37.13% of their shots have come from beyond the arc.

Free Spread Prediction: Saint Mary’s Gaels -6.5

Heading into this matchup, our NCAA betting model has identified this game as a profitable opportunity and recommends taking the Saint Mary’s Gaels to pick up the win and cover the spread as -6.5 point betting favorites. Although Saint Mary’s as a team is just 81st in overall shooting percentage, we see their offense putting together a strong performance against the Cougars’ defense. In addition, the Gaels have made bettors money who have taken them to cover on the road, as they are 5-4-1 (last 10). At -6.5 we see there being plenty of value in grabbing the Gaels to come out on top and cover.