The No. 5 Saint Mary’s Gaels will take on the No. 12 Grand Canyon Antelopes in the First Round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. This will be an West Region matchup and will take place on Friday from Spokane
Below we’ll preview both teams, including analysis and key stats while also providing our prediction.
Saint Mary’s Gaels
NET: 16
KenPom Overall: 20
KenPom O: 45
KenPom D: 16
Record: 26-7
Strength of Schedule: 108
Conference: West Coast
Conference Record: 15-1
Quad 1 Record: 5-3
Saint Mary’s earned the regular season title in the West Coast Conference after a 15-1 run in conference play. They fell once to Gonzaga, who they met for a third time in the conference championship game and beat, earning the conference title and the NCAA autobid. The Gaels’ strong suit this season was their defense, which kept opponents to less than 60 points per game, ranking third in the country.
Grand Canyon Antelopes
NET: 50
KenPom Overall: 53
KenPom O: 63
KenPom D: 51
Record: 29-4
Strength of Schedule: 209
Conference: WAC
Conference Record: 17-3
Quad 1 Record: 1-0
Grand Canyon is back in the NCAA Tournament and looking to do damage as a mid-major spoiler. GC boasted the most efficient offense and defense in the WAC and put the clamps on conference foes on the defensive side of the floor. The Antelopes were menaces in the paint, limiting opponents to just 44.4% shooting from two and had a 13.5% block rate.
2024 March Madness: Saint Mary’s vs. Grand Canyon odds
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: Saint Mary’s -5.5, Grand Canyon +5.5
Over/Under: 129
Moneyline: Saint Mary’s -250, Grand Canyon +205
Prediction: Saint Mary’s
Grand Canyon should give Saint Mary’s a good scare in Spokane, but I ultimately think that Saint Mary’s is more battle tested a ready for this matchup. I think the Gaels will carry their momentum from the WCC Tournament over into the Big Dance.