The Saint Mary’s Gaels (13-9, 4-3 WCC) welcome the San Francisco Dons (17-4, 5-2 WCC) in a matchup that pits phenomenal offense against stifling defense. The game begins at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 2, 2019.
San Francisco Dons at Saint Mary’s Gaels Free Prediction
The last time the Dons played, they were defeated by the San Diego Toreros, 67-63. Getting to the charity stripe was one of San Diego’s biggest strengths. They had 27 free throw attempts, while San Francisco had 21. Nate Renfro had a good performance for San Francisco, finishing with 15 points and six rebounds.
The Gaels were beaten by the Pepperdine Waves in their last matchup, 84-77. Pepperdine was effective at getting and making free throws. The Waves made 23 of their 25 free throws (92.0 percent), while the Gaels were just 10-17 (58.8 percent). Saint Mary’s’ Malik Fitts had a solid game, leading the team in scoring with 27 points on 10-for-19 shooting.
This is the second game of the season between these two teams. In the first, Renfro put up 18 points and 10 rebounds and the Dons defeated the Gaels 76-72. The Dons had a much better free throw rate (0.293 vs. 0.169) and had a much better offensive rebounding percentage (31.6 vs. 26.3).
The game should be a battle of strength against strength as the high-powered offense of Saint Mary’s (14th in the country with an offensive efficiency of 116.2) takes on the elite defense of San Francisco (15th in the country with a defensive efficiency of 92.5). The Dons should be expected to protect the ball well. They rank 16th at avoiding errors (turnover percentage of 15.5 percent), while the Gaels force the 53rd-fewest turnovers in the country (opponents’ turnover percentage of 17.1 percent).
San Francisco Dons vs. Saint Mary’s Gaels ATS Pick
Pick: SU Winner – Saint Mary’s, ATS Winner – Saint Mary’s, O/U – Under
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Notes
Betting Notes:
San Francisco ranks 41st in rebounds per game (38.7) while Saint Mary’s ranks 186th (34.8).
The Dons rank 126th in assists per game (13.8) while the Gaels rank 227th (11.4).
Saint Mary’s is fourth in the nation with 17.0 three pointers allowed per game while San Francisco is 28th with 19.0 three pointers allowed per game.
The Gaels rank eighth in steals allowed per game (4.6) while the Dons rank 10th (4.7).
San Francisco ranks 93rd in blocks per game (3.5) while Saint Mary’s ranks 94th in blocks allowed per game (3.4).
Bettings Trends:
The Dons’ average margin of victory in their last five games has been 5.0, down from 13.2 for the season.
During their last five games, the Gaels have scored an average of 73.0 points per game (3.6 below their season average) and allowed an average of 65.8 points per game (0.6 below their season average).
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