Two West coast teams will battle it out on Saturday night, as Saint Mary’s and UCLA take the court in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. UCLA is a slight favorite in the game, but the Gaels showed in the first round that they are more than capable of eliminating a power conference opponent. In our March Madness betting picks, we look at Saint Mary’s vs UCLA in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
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Saint Mary’s vs UCLA Betting Pick
This game will be played at 7:10 PM ET at Moda Center on Saturday, March 19, 2022.
Why Bet On Saint Mary’s:
✅ UCLA looked far from convincing in the first round against an Akron team that is nowhere near the level of Saint Mary’s. The mid-range shooting of UCLA leaves it vulnerable to scoring droughts without the impact on the scoreboard of the three-point shot. While UCLA is a very good team, this will finally catch up with them against the Gaels.
✅ Saint Mary’s is playing some inspired basketball at this point in time. They made a run to the final of the WCC tournament, and demolished Indiana in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Their only recent loss came against Gonzaga in the final of their conference tournament, thanks to their ability to hit shots from the perimeter and get rebounds with Matthias Tass.
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✅ The location of this game does not overly favor UCLA, as it is being held in Portland. Saint Mary’s is a beloved program in the Pacific Northwest and, while UCLA fans will be out in force on the West coast, there will at least be some support for the Gaels to even things out and help push Saint Mary’s over the finish line.
Saint Mary’s Gaels
Saint Mary’s went into the 5 vs. 12 matchup in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and proved that they deserved their seeding. They crushed the Indiana Hoosiers by a score of 82-53, overcoming a sluggish start to waltz into the second round of the tournament. Against UCLA, the defense of the Gaels will be tested against a Bruins team that can hurt opponents in a number of ways.
The key for Saint Mary’s in this game will be to establish Matthias Tass offensively early in the game. That will allow them to run their offense through the post at times throughout the game, setting up kick outs to three-point shooters. The Gaels were able to score on the inside against Trayce Jackson-Davis and the Hoosiers, and will be tested again here.
UCLA Bruins
UCLA got through a tight game in the first round, beating the Akron Zips by just four points thanks to a late run in the second half. The Bruins were far from convincing in that game, as their shots were not falling against the Akron defense. Here, they will look to be more efficient from the field to avoid falling early in the NCAA Tournament after last year’s run to the Final Four.
Also concerning for the Bruins was the fact that they were dead even with Akron in the rebounding department in the first round. Saint Mary’s is a good rebounding team, and could easily make UCLA pay for any struggles with pulling down rebounds, something the Zips were unable to do.