Saint Mary’s Vs Arizona Free Pick, Lines & TV Info

Posted by Henry Watkins on Friday,March 17, 2017 1:35, EDT in

Selection Sunday is the day when every team hoping to be involved in the tournament hold their breath. A big part of the fun and excitement is seeing which of the bubble teams make it in, but it’s also interesting to see which of the top seeds will have a pretty clear path to the Final Four. It can be argued that the Arizona Wildcats, who were installed as a #2 seed, have one of the potentially easiest paths to the final. They certainly made their opening round game look easy, but they will have a bit of a tougher test on Saturday night in Salt Lake City when they face the Saint Mary’s Gaels. This is a game that Arizona would be expected to win, but the bookies have it reasonably close, installing the Wildcats as a 4-point favorite. I think this one might actually be one of the steals of the second round, at least in terms of covering the spread. Let’s take a closer look at how these two teams got here as well as the latest college basketball spreads.

A Closer Look At The Gaels Vs Wildcats Free Pick, Lines & TV Info

When: Saturday, March 18 at 7:45 PM EST
Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City
TV: CBS
Live Stream: CBS Sports Network
NCAAB Odds: TBA

 

 

Why bet on the Saint Mary’s Gaels

There are a couple of things that Saint Mary’s Gaels will need to do if they want to spring the upset and move on to the Sweet 16. The first thing will be to limit the effectiveness of the Wildcats from the perimeter, which they did to brilliant effect versus VCU in an 85-77 opening round win. VCU only managed to hit 2 of their 13 3-point attempts, which is usually a sign that a team is going to lose. The second thing that Saint Mary’s will need to do versus Arizona is keep the Wildcats off the free throw line. Arizona were brilliant from there in their opening round game. It’s tough to come away with a win if you are continually gifting the other team points.

Why bet on the Arizona Wildcats

I have the Wildcats going all the way to the final in my bracket, and I am feeling a little more confident about that pick after watching them cruise to a 100-82 victory over North Dakota in the opening round. Sure, you can say that this was an opponent that they should dominate, but saying it and actually doing it ae two very different things. As mentioned earlier, it was their proficiency from the free throw line (24 of 28) that helped them run away with their first game of the tournament. Lauri Markkanen and Rawle Alkins were in top form in the first round, going a combined 16 of 20 from the field and scoring a combined 40 points. A similar type of performance form those two will help Arizona move on to the Sweet 16

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

I think that the 4-point spread on this one is a little on the low side, as I believe that the Arizona Wildcats will cruise to another comfortable victory.

Saint Mary’s Gaels 79 Arizona Wildcats 94