Grand Canyon vs Saint Mary's Picks and Prediction – 3/22/2024

The Grand Canyon Lopes come into round one of the tournament as one of the better teams in the entire country with 29 wins overall riding a long winning streak following a 15 point victory over UT Arlington in the Western Athletic Conference tournament championship. The Grand Canyon offense has carried the team all season scoring just under 80 points per game good enough for 44th in the country. Defensively Grand Canyon has been just as strong ranking 46 in the country holding teams in just 66.9 points per game overall. Stay up to date with our College Basketball Picks.

Offensively the Grand Canyon rolled against UT Arlington scoring 89 points on nearly 40% shooting and knocked down 6 triples in the game. Defensively the Lopes did the work allowing 74 points on 49% shooting overall. Grand Canyon also won the rebounding battle and forced 26 turnovers in the victory.

The Saint Mary's Gaels come into the big tournament with 26 wins on the year having won four of the last five including a nine point victory over Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference tournament championship. Offensively St. Mary's scored the ball well this season averaging 74.2 points per game overall. The Gaels have ranked in the top five defensively as well holding opponents to just 58.7 points per game overall resulting in the conference championship victory.

Aidan Mahaney leads the Saint Mary's offense this season averaging 13.9 points per game. Augustus Marciulionis averages 12.4 points and adds a team leading 5.2 rebounds. Joshua Jefferson averages 10.2 points per game, while Alex Ducas averages 10.1 points as the fifth player in double figures. Big man Mitchell Saxen averages 11.7 points in a team leading 7.5 rebounds.