The No. 5 seed Saint Mary’s Gaels (26-7, 15-3 WCC) take on the No. 12 seed VCU Rams (27-7, 18-3 A10) Friday at MVP Arena in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
VCU defeated the Dayton Flyers 68-56 at Barclays Center on Sunday in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tourney Championship, their ninth consecutive win. With 16 points, Adrian Baldwin Jr. was the top scorer. Jalen DeLoach was another key contributor with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Saint Mary’s lost in blowout fashion in the West Coast Conference Tourney Championship on March 7 at Orleans Arena, falling to the Gonzaga Bulldogs 77-51. Logan Johnson had 20 points in defeat to lead the team.
The Gaels triumphed in the last meeting between the teams 85-77 at Vivint Arena in March 2017. Brandon Johns Jr. and Baldwin Jr., averaging 11.8 and 11.5 points per game, respectively, are leading the Rams in scoring this season.
Baldwin Jr. also has dished 5.3 assists per game. Meanwhile, DeLoach is grabbing 7.0 rebounds per game. Johnson (14.7 ppg), Aidan Mahaney (14.5), and Alex Ducas (12.5) have supplied much of the Gaels’ offense. Johnson also has doled out 3.7 assists per game.
Meanwhile, Mitchell Saxen has pulled down 7.8 rebounds per game. The Rams and the Gaels are two of the top defenses in the nation, ranking sixth and 15th in defensive efficiency, respectively. VCU is 9-1 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +11.6 (73.6-62.0).
Saint Mary’s has gone 7-3 over the last 10, scoring 71.2 points per game on average while allowing 67.0 (+4.2 margin). The Gaels are averaging 71.4 ppg for the full season while allowing 60.1.
RAMS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Nick Kern Jr.: 13.8 | 8.8 | +5.0
Rebounds per game:
Brandon Johns Jr.: 6.8 | 5.3 | +1.5
GAELS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Logan Johnson: 30.6 | 23.2 | +7.4
Mitchell Saxen: 13.8 | 21.1 | -7.3
Points per game:
Logan Johnson: 22.6 | 14.7 | +7.9
Mitchell Saxen: 8.6 | 11.6 | -3.0
Rebounds per game:
Mitchell Saxen: 4.2 | 7.8 | -3.6
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
Saint Mary’s (-185)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
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