No. 13 Saint Mary’s Gaels at Gonzaga Bulldogs
Thursday, 2/9/12, 11:00 PM EST, TV:  ESPN2
Opening Point Spread:  Gonzaga -2.5
Current Betting Line:  Gonzaga -3.5
Opening Total:  140
Current Total:  139.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker

Saint Mary’s puts its 12-game win streak on the line Thursday night in traveling to take on second-place Gonzaga inside the McCarthey Athletic Center in West Coast Conference action.  The Gaels have won all 11 of their conference games and is motivated to end the Bulldogs’ run of 11 consecutive WCC titles.  “We’re still hungry,” commented Gaels guard Stephen Holt.  The program scored a convincing 83-62 win over tonight’s opponent in the first meeting this year as four-point home favorites, while going “over” the posted total of 142.  Saint Mary’s is 8-7 ATS as an underdog the last two-plus years.

The Gaels are led offensively by junior point guard Matthew Dellavedova, who has led the program to a 72-17 record as a starter.  Saint Mary’s current win streak is the third-longest in school history and it will look to score at least 70 points in this contest.  Over the last four seasons, the team is 85-8 when scoring 70 or more points.  It’s important to note that the team hasn’t won consecutive games in Spokane in this series since the 1989 and 1990 seasons.

Gonzaga has won five of its last six games and comes home after playing three consecutive road games, picking up a 72-60 victory over the Pepperdine Waves as 12-point favorites.  The Bulldogs have gone “over” the total in their last two games, which immediately followed a streak of four consecutive contest of going “under” the posted total.  The program has won eight straight WCC home games since losing to Saint Mary’s on Jan. 27, 2011 as three-point favorites.  Gonzaga is 9-12 ATS on the year and the “under” is 14-5 in that span.

The Bulldogs lead the all-time series with the Gaels by a 53-26 margin, but have split the last six meetings overall.  Gonzaga center Robert Sacre comes in averaging 11.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, but was held to four and three in those respective categories in the first meeting this season.  He did manage to score 15 points in the team’s latest victory over the Waves.

Bettors will likely back the Gaels due to their 8-3 ATS mark versus winning teams, while the Bulldogs are 0-6-1 ATS against conference opponents.

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