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Following a chaotic weekend full of upsets and last-second finishes on the hardwood, college basketball will take center stage on the calendar once again on Monday, March 9. With Championship Week now in full swing, Monday’s card is headlined by a couple of conference title games in the SoCon and Sun Belt, while also featuring a double dose of WCC semifinal matchups on ESPN2 at 9:00 pm ET and 11:30 pm ET from Las Vegas. I have settled on my college basketball best bets for today’s action, and it happens to come in the form of some late night hoops in the WCC tournament.
Let’s break down our college basketball best bet for today’s games, and don’t forget our NCAAB predictions for all of the biggest college hoops matchups every day throughout Championship Week as we inch ever closer to March Madness.
College basketball best bet: Santa Clara Broncos +3.5 vs Saint Mary’s Gaels (-105)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to Santa Clara +3
This clash between Santa Clara and Saint Mary’s is arguably the most important contest of the entire day considering what’s at stake. After all, the Broncos are squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble and this game against a Quad 1 opponent presents Santa Clara with a massive opportunity to make a statement on a national stage and essentially lock itself into an at-large berth. While they were outclassed in the most recent meeting between these teams, the Broncos did win the first meeting comfortably, which indicates that there is a clear path to success for Santa Clara to at least keep this game within a possession. With that in mind, I can only look toward backing Santa Clara in a situation where the Broncos are live to spring the outright upset.
These teams are fairly evenly matched on paper, which is part of why I gravitate toward taking the points with the underdog. We know that this is going to be a clash of styles, with Saint Mary’s sitting at 257th in adjusted tempo, while Santa Clara is 57th in pace of play. The Broncos should look to drag Saint Mary’s into a game script that is unfamiliar and doesn’t fit into its comfort zone. However, while the Gaels offense has been inconsistent against high-level competition — as evident in their performances against both Santa Clara and Gonzaga in WCC play — the Broncos have the capability to consistently put up points on any defense.
Herb Sendek’s offense is among the best at the mid-major level, as Santa Clara ranks 23rd in adjusted efficiency (BartTorvik) while tallying 80 or more points in 8 of its last 11 games played. Santa Clara is extremely efficient around the rim as a unit, and the Broncos also do a great job of attacking the offensive glass (19th in offensive rebounding rate). Furthermore, Saint Mary’s also really struggles at getting to the free-throw line, so manufacturing points could be a little more difficult to come by for an offense that is 163rd in free-throw rate on the season. I’ll take the points in this crucial matchup on Monday.
Read our full Santa Clara vs Saint Mary’s prediction for today’s matchup on ESPN.
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