Saint Mary’s Heavy Favorites Against Struggling Pepperdine
The Visiting Gaels Are Heavy Favorites in the Saint Mary's vs Pepperdine Odds
Saint Mary’s Can Clinch WCC Title With A Win over Pepperdine
Saint Mary’s is 40 minutes away from winning the West Coast Conference outright regular-season title, as a win over Pepperdine will seal the deal. The Saint Mary’s vs Pepperdine odds have the visiting Gaels as the double-digit favorite.
After a 44-point win two weeks ago, Saint Mary’s has now won five games in a row against Pepperdine and 14 of the last 16 games. The Gaels have also covered in four consecutive games against the Waves.
The college basketball betting lines has Saint Mary’s listed as a 15.5-point favorite with -1210 odds to win the game outright. The Gaels have been favored by at least 10 points in 10 of the last 15 meetings between Saint Mary’s and Pepperdine.
Saint Mary’s moved up one spot to No. 17 in both the Associated Press and USA Today coaches poll.
Saint Mary’s is +7000 in the odds of winning March Madness. Saint Mary’s is 15th in the NCAA NET rankings, as the Gaels are 4-2 in Quad 1 games. Pepperdine is 0-10 in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games, one of the worst marks in the country.
Keep reading for more about the matchup between Saint Mary’s and Pepperdine.
Gaels vs Waves 
Day/Time:
Records: Gaels (14-0 in the WCC)/Waves (5-10 in the WCC)
Location: Firestone Fieldhouse, Malibu, CA
Streaming: CBS Sports Network
History Awaits for Saint Mary’s
After sharing the WCC regular-season title last season, Saint Mary’s is ready to take the next step.
With Gonzaga falling to Santa Clara in January and then losing to Saint Mary’s less than a month later, that has given the Gaels a two-game lead with two games left to go.
A win by Saint Mary’s would give the Gaels the outright title. The Gaels returned four of the top five scorers from last year’s team, but at +130, they were still behind Gonzaga in the WCC title odds when the season began.
The Gaels have won nine of their conference games by at least 10 points and have covered in nine of the last 12 conference games. Keep that in mind when it comes to the Saint Mary’s vs Pepperdine odds.
Saint Mary’s is 5-1 against the NCAAB odds in the last six games.
Waves Are Sinking Fast
After opening February with three losses by an average of 6.3 points, things quickly went in the opposite direction.
Beginning with a matchup against Saint Mary’s, Pepperdine has lost the last four NCAAB games by an average of 27 points. That is factoring into the Saint Mary’s vs Pepperdine odds.
Pepperdine has surrendered 103, 91, 89, and 92 points in those games. The Waves have led for all of 56 seconds in those four games.
One bright spot has been Michael Ajayi, who scored 56 points in recent back-to-back games. Sophomore Jevon Porter, who didn’t make his season debut until Jan. 17, has scored in double figures in 11 consecutive games.
Pepperdine is 4-2 against the spread in its last six games.
Last Meeting
Saint Mary’s scored 60 points in the second half en route to the 103-59 win. The game went over the 133-point total on a basket by Augustas Marciulionis with 6:09 left to play.
Marciulionis led Saint Mary’s with 28 points in the win, while Porter led Pepperdine with 13 points.
Saint Mary’s vs Pepperdine Betting Preview
A win over Pepperdine would mean that the NCAAB regular-season finale between Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s would have no impact on the WCC regular-season race, with the Gaels clinching the title in this matchup.
Don’t look for an upset, even if the Gaels are the visiting NCAAB team. The bigger question is whether Pepperdine will cover against Saint Mary’s for just the second time in the last six meetings.
Saint Mary’s is 5-0 this season as the road favorite and has covered in three of those games.
Pepperdine has lost all four games as the home underdog and is 1-3 ATS in those games.
The Waves are 1-14 outright this season as an underdog, while Saint Mary’s is 19-6 as the favorite.
Saint Mary’s is without its second-leading rebounder and No. 4 scorer, Joshua Jefferson, for the rest of the season. Center Henry Wessels, who had nine points and seven rebounds the last time that Saint Mary’s faced Pepperdine, is questionable.
Boubacar Coulibaly, who is fourth on Pepperdine in scoring and third in rebounding, continues to be sidelined.
The Gaels have covered in six of their eight road games including the last five in a row. Pepperdine is 8-6 against the spread at home, with just five of those games landing over the total.
The total has gone over in six of Pepperdine’s last seven games, with the total at 136.5 points.
Part of that low total can be attributed to Saint Mary’s coming in 14th in defensive efficiency according to the KenPom rankings.
Go with the Gaels to roll over the host Pepperdine Waves in this matchup.
For NCAAB picks, college basketball odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
