Graham Ike's return could not be better timed for Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs, who host longtime rival Saint Mary's on Saturday evening in Spokane. The Ga
The Gaels sit 19-3 overall and 8-1 in conference play, with their lone WCC loss coming on the road against Santa Clara back on Jan. 17. Prior to that, they lost to Vanderbilt in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship and Boise State on a neutral site.
..in Idaho Falls. All that to say, it's been your typical excellent season for coach Randy Bennett's team. Led by the WCC's top scorer, Paulius Murauskas, as well as standout sophomore guard Mikey Lewis, the Gaels are once again among the most efficient scoring teams in the country, while playing excellent, physical defense and dominating on the boards. What's even more impressive is SMC's youth, something we don't often see from this club in Moraga. The Gaels rely heavily on a pair of sophomore guards in Lewis and point guard Joshua Dent, who ranks 13th in the country in the percentage of minutes played at a whopping 90.5%. He also leads the conference with an astonishing 93.6% clip from the free throw line, while averaging 13.3 points and 5.4 assists. Saint Mary's also gets great production from freshmen Dillan Shaw and Liam Campbell, and of course has two mountains lined up down low in 7'3 junior Andrew McKeever and 7'1 senior Harry Wessels. Gonzaga will likely look to deploy a small-ball lineup in the non-Ike minutes on Saturday, with 6'7 wings Jalen Warley and Tyon Grant-Foster playing the post spots, but the Gaels will have an answer with the bigs and a major advantage on the glass. It should make for a unique chess match between these two longtime rivals, with a lot on the line for both teams. Gonzaga would love to win the last regular-season matchup in Spokane before moving to the Pac-12, while Saint Mary's is desperate for their first Quad 1 win of the season to boost their NCAA Tournament resume, which currently looks borderline for an at-large bid.Below is a look at notable trends and the overall point spread and betting lines for Saturday's bout between Gonzaga and Saint Mary's:- Gonzaga went 16-19 ATS last year, including just 4-10 ATS at home and 6-4 on the roadFanDuel Sportsbook . Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.Andy Patton is a diehard fan and alumnus of Gonzaga, graduating in 2013. He’s been the host of the Locked On Zags podcast covering Gonzaga basketball since 2021, and one of two co-hosts on the Locked On College Basketball podcast since 2022. In addition to covering college basketball, Andy has dabbled in sports writing and podcasting across nearly every major sport dating back to 2017. He was a beat writer covering the Seattle Seahawks from 2017–2021 for USA TODAY, where he also spent one year each covering the USC Trojans and Oregon Ducks, and had a stint as the lead writer for College Sports Wire. Andy has also written about the NBA, NHL, and MLB for various news outlets through TEGNA, including KREM in Spokane, CBS8 in San Diego, and KING 5 in Seattle. After stints in Spokane and Seattle, Andy is back in Oregon near his hometown with his wife, daughter, and dog.What Gonzaga’s Mark Few said ahead of rivalry matchup vs. Saint Mary’sMichigan vs. Michigan State Prediction, Odds for College Basketball on Friday, Jan. 30Daily Dunk: Best College Basketball Bets Today
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