No. 8 Georgia vs. No. 9 Saint Louis College Basketball prediction, preview (9:45pm ET on Thursday in Buffalo, NY)
The Billikens got off to a scorching start to the season, going 24-1 with the lone loss by a single-point on a neutral floor to Stanford. From mid-February on, Saint Louis did not appear to be the same team. The Billikens finished the season going just 4-4 over its last eight games, and went just 2-6 ATS.
Saint Louis has respectable metrics over the course of the season, finishing 51st in offensive rating and 42nd in defensive rating on KenPom. However, if we look at the last month, The Bilikens have fallen off a cliff, ranking 107th in offensive efficiency and 156th in defensive efficiency. During that same time span, Georgia’s offense ranks third in the country in offensive efficiency.
The Bulldogs are well tested on a nightly basis in the SEC in ways that Saint Louis is not in the A-10. Georgia has speed, size and athleticism that should make it a very difficult matchup for the Billikens. Saint Louis simply hasn’t had a challenge like the Bulldogs yet this season. Its toughest games have been a one-point win over Santa Clara and a one-point loss to Stanford (both on a neutral floor in November), and a road win at VCU — which was the only other time this season the Billikens have been underdogs.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are 16-3 when favored this season, and have wins as an underdog over Alabama, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Missouri. I’ll back the team with more talent and far more accomplishments under its belt. Georgia was one of my first bets when the bracket came out, and I gave out -135 of the moneyline on Sunday night. I am ok with betting the Bulldogs up to -145 on the moneyline or laying up to -2.5 on the spread.
