Gonzaga vs Saint Mary's Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for March 7 WCC Championship (Back the Bulldogs to Ball Out)

Gonzaga vs Saint Mary's (CA) Game Info

• 2022-23 NCAA Basketball WCC Tournament Championship
• No. 9 Gonzaga (27-5, 14-2 WCC) vs. No. 16 Saint Mary's (26-6, 14-2 WCC)
• Date: Tuesday, March 7, 2023
• Time: 9:00 PM ET
• Venue: Orleans Arena -- Las Vegas, NV
• Coverage: ESPN

The West Coast Conference title is on the line when the No. 9 Gonzaga Bulldogs and No. 16 Saint Mary's Gaels meet on Tuesday night. Gonzaga took down San Francisco in the semifinal by a score of 84-73. Anton Watson led the Bulldogs with 20 points (8-of-16 shooting) and added 7 rebounds, too.

Meanwhile, Saint Mary's took care of business with a 76-69 win over BYU on Monday to reach the championship game. Alex Ducas took over with 23 points (7-of-11 shooting) and 7 rebounds. Keep in mind these team split their regular season meetings, so which team will earn the title on Tuesday?

Gonzaga vs Saint Mary's (CA) Odds & Spread

• All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: GONZ: (-144) | STMARY: (+120)
• Spread: GONZ: -2.5 (-112) | STMARY: +2.5 (-108)
• Total: 138.5 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

Gonzaga enters this contest as a small favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 9 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 138.5 points, which is about average compared to Tuesday's projected totals.

Gonzaga vs Saint Mary's (CA) Betting Trends

• Gonzaga is 9-2 straight up in its last 11games against Saint Mary's.
• Gonzagais 4-13 against the spread (ATS) in games away from home this season.
• Saint Mary's is 7-17-1 ATS in its last 25 games against Gonzaga.
• The total has hit the over in three of Saint Mary's last five games.

Gonzaga vs Saint Mary's (CA) Prediction & Pick

This lines up as a classic battle between an great offense and a great defense. Gonzaga leads the nation in points per game (86.8) and ranks first in shooting percentage (52.1%) as well. On the other side, Saint Mary's ranks fourth in points allowed per game (59.5) and ninth in defensive efficiency.

I see this game playing out much like the matchup in Spokane did on Feb. 25. Drew Timme torched the Gaels down low with 19 points (7-of-11 shooting) as the Bulldogs shot 53.8% from the floor. Saint Mary's was able to contest a ton of shots, but it didn't matter as Gonzaga's talent shined through.

Gonzaga has won nine of its last 11 games against Saint Mary's, so trust the Bulldogs on Tuesday.

Final Score Prediction: Gonzaga: 74 | Saint Mary's: 68

Gonzaga vs Saint Mary's (CA) Best Bet

There's value in backing the over in this game, but there's even more value in backing Gonzaga to ball out. The Bulldogs have scored at least 71 points in 11 of their last 12 games and they racked up 70 points the one time they failed to reach that mark. They have dominated WCC finals in the past, too.

Gonzaga has won eight of the last nine WCC Tournaments and has scored more than 70 points in each of those eight championship game victories. While Saint Mary's defense has been amazing this season, it is a unit that just allowed 69 points to a BYU offense that ranks 159th in efficiency this year.

Bet: Gonzaga Bulldogs Over 70.5 Points (-110)

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.