Saint Mary’s vs. UCLA Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
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Nik Kowalski
The Gaels cruised past Indiana in their Round of 64 matchup, with the latter playing their second game of the tournament. Saint Mary’s finished off Indiana by a score of 83-52. UCLA edged out Akron in an offensive struggle by a score of 57-53.
Tip-off at the Moda Center goes at 7:10 p.m. EDT, and UCLA is a 3-point favourite to win, with the over-under set at 127 on the NCAAB odds.
Saint Mary’s vs. UCLA NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
The Bruins and Gaels both have wins in six of their last seven contests. UCLA’s covered in four of their last five games against the West Coast Conference but the underdog Gaels are 6-1 straight up in their last seven versus UCLA’s Pac-12 Conference.
Three straight Saint Mary’s games have gone over the total, but UCLA’s Round of 64 bout went under by 18 points. The Bruins averaged nearly 80 points a game this season, so depending on how you look at Thursday — it’s either impressive they advanced on an off-shooting night or concerning their first tournament game went so poorly on offence. Getting behind versus Saint Mary’s is a recipe for disaster too — the Gaels can shoot and are a top-30 free throw team.
Saint Mary’s Gaels (5)
The Gaels grinded out an easy victory Thursday that started with stellar defensive play. St. Mary’s was facing a worn-out Indiana squad and held them to 53 points on 18 made field goals and two made three-pointers. Then on offence, Saint Mary’s made their shots count, going 51 per cent from the field and hitting 10 of 21 three-point attempts.
Senior guard Logan Johnson led the team with 20 points on eight of 13 shooting with three steals too. Four of five Gaels’ starters reached double-digit points. Alex Ducas and Tommy Kuhse both went three of six from the arc, with Kuhse also dishing out six assists.
UCLA Bruins (4)
Point guard Tyger Campbell came through late for the Bruins Thursday via a logo three-pointer with 79 seconds to go. Campbell’s deep trey ended up being the game’s clinching basket as the Bruins erased an eight-point deficit with under eight minutes remaining. The Bruins shot just 35 per cent from the field but were clutch from the line going 11 for 13 on free throws.
Campbell’s 16 points led the team, and he also chipped in with five assists. Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA’s top two scorers this season, combined for 24 points on six of 21 shooting from the field. Jaquez Jr. knocked down a game-high eight free throws on nine attempts.
SMC
UCLA