Check out our free Saint Mary’s vs Connecticut pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Albany. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.
Saint Mary’s vs Connecticut Pick & Preview: Sunday, March 19th Betting Odds
Gaels vs Huskies Matchup at a Glance
- Sport: NCAAB
- Teams: Saint Mary’s Gaels at Connecticut Huskies
- Where: Albany at MVP Arena
- Date: Sunday, March 19th
- Betting Odds: Saint Mary’s +4, STMRY +159 | UCONN -194 O/U 128.5
Gaels Preview:
Heading into today’s matchup vs Connecticut, the Saint Mary’s Gaels will be taking the floor for the 34th time this season and have an overall record of 26-7. On the road, the Gaels will be playing their 10th game of the season, having gone 8-2. So far, the Gaels have been the underdog 4 times, going 1-3 straight up. Heading into today’s contest, they are the +4 underdogs on the spread.
Saint Mary’s’ leading scorer this season is Logan Johnson, who is averaging 14.64 points per contest. So far, Johnson has accounted for 20.51% of the team’s scoring. In addition, he is contributing 4.79 rebounds per game and 3.67 assists. Aidan Mahaney is the second leading scorer for the Gaels, averaging 14.48 points per game. Between him and Mahaney, they are accounting for 40.8% 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.
Huskies Preview:
The Connecticut Huskies head into today’s game in what will be their 34th game of the season, posting a record of 25-8. So far this season, Connecticut has played 19 games at home, sitting with a record of 17-2. The Huskies’ are sitting with a betting line that is -4 points in their favor. For the season, Connecticut has been favored to win in 32 games, sitting with a mark of 25-7.
Adama Sanogo comes into today’s game as the Huskies’ leading scorer at 16.76 points per contest. Not only has Sanogo been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is Connecticut’s top rebounder at 7.27 boards per contest. Behind Sanogo, the team has benefited from the strong play of Jordan Hawkins, who is second on the team in scoring at 16.13 points per game. Overall, he has hit 40.5% of his shots and is adding 3.9 boards per game.
On offense, Connecticut is scoring a rate similar to the NCAA average at 75.2 points per game. This figure has come despite struggling to knock down shots from outside. Through 33 games, they have only hit 35.4% of their 3-point field goal attempts. For the season, 34.16% of their shots have come from beyond the arc.
Free Spread Prediction: Saint Mary’s Gaels +4
In today’s matchup, our analysis has identified the best bet as an opportunity to bet on a road underdog. Coming into the game, the Connecticut Huskies are the betting favorite with a point spread set at -4. However, we anticipate Saint Mary’s putting up a strong fight and see them covering the spread. It is likely, the the public is going to side heavily with the Huskies as the favorite. But, we see this line being set too high and like the value of taking the Gaels to cover.
