The West Coast Conference tournament continues on Monday with two games as top-ranked Gonzaga hosts San Francisco and Saint Mary’s hosts Santa Clara. Let’s go over all of the available sport betting information, betting odds and try to find the best NCAAB expert picks for both matches.
Gonzaga entered play as the clear favorite to win the tournament. They are not only the best team in the West Coast Conference, but they are the top team in the nation.
Saint Mary’s entered the tournament as the second-ranked team. They are second to Gonzaga in conference wins as they have 12 while the Bulldogs have 13. Santa Clara and San Francisco are both ranked third and fourth with ten wins each.
Saint Mary’s upset Gonzaga back on February 26th with a 67-57 victory. The Dons last played on Saturday when they took care of business against BYU, and Santa Clara also last hit the court on Saturday when they also won against Portland.
Matchup Information
San Francisco vs. Gonzaga tip-off is scheduled for 9:00 P.M. EST at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada, on Monday, March 7th.
Santa Clara vs. Saint Mary’s tip-off is scheduled for 11:30 P.M. EST at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada, on Monday, March 7th.
West Coast Conference Betting Analysis
Gonzaga has won this tournament eight times over the course of the past nine seasons. Saint Mary’s earned the only other win during that span which came in the 2018-2019 campaign. With the Bulldogs looking stronger than ever, the chance of the Gaels pulling off the upset once again seems slim to none; however, they were able to take care of business against Gonzaga last week.
This year’s tournament began on Thursday and will end on Tuesday. Loyola Marymount and San Diego both earned victories to open the tournament on Thursday.
Both teams then lost on Friday as Loyola Marymount was defeated by Brigham Young and San Diego dropped their matchup with Portland. But then Brigham Young lost to San Francisco, and Portland was blown out by Santa Clara on Saturday.
And all of that leads us to Monday as San Francisco hopes to upset No. 1 Gonzaga, and Santa Clara will try to upset No. 2 Saint Mary’s.
Although anything is possible, the Gaels and Bulldogs have run this conference for many years, and they are projected to face off in the tournament championship yet again.
Updates
Despite their loss against Saint Mary’s last week, Gonzaga is still the clear favorite by a longshot. They entered the tournament as a -375 NCAAB odds favorite.
- Gonzaga is 14-11-2 ATS this season.
- Saint Mary’s is 18-9-2 ATS this season.
- Santa Clara is 18-11-2 ATS this season.
- San Francisco is 12-18-1 ATS this season.
West Coast Conference Betting Preview
I am typically all for rolling the dice and taking a chance on the underdog, especially in college basketball. But this tournament’s ending is practically engraved in stone, given its history. Gonzaga is always the favorite in the West Coast Conference, while Saint Mary’s tends to be the runner-up most years.
Brigham Young is the only other team to finish in one of the top two spots over the past ten years of the tournament.
I would certainly recommend betting on Gonzaga to win their game over San Francisco.
Santa Clara and Saint Mary’s offer a bit more intrigue, but the Gaels should be able to pull out the victory. The majority of top sportsbooks currently favor them anywhere as a four to six-point favorite.
West Coast Conference Betting Prediction
When making your NCAAB betting picks, bet on the Gonzaga Bulldogs and Saint Mary’s Gaels.
How to Bet on Monday’s West Coast Conference Games
One strategy bettors should consider implementing is the two-game parlay for Monday. If you end up deciding to take Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s, then combining them in a parlay will increase your overall winnings.
If bettors decide to take Santa Clara as the underdog pick, then I would recommend betting separately since there is less certainty in that selection.
The other intriguing aspect of the two-game parlay is you could realistically bet on both money lines and still earn a decent payday.
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