Saint Mary’s vs. VCU: 2023 NCAA Tournament Odds, Preview & Predictions

Mar 12, 2023 - 11:32 PM

March Madness is officially here! The 2023 NCAA Tournament Bracket has been announced, and the teams are lining up for the Big Dance. Let’s take a look at the early odds, preview, and predictions for the 2023 NCAA Tournament Round 1 game: Saint Mary’s vs. VCU.

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2023 March Madness Odds, Preview & Predictions: Saint Mary’s vs. VCU

Saint Mary’s vs. VCU Odds, Spread & Match Up Overview

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Saint Mary’s 2023 NCAA Tournament Betting Preview

Saint Mary's were sent home with their tail tucked between their legs after a drubbing against Gonzaga in the WCC title game. Despite ranking 11th in KenPom, Saint Mary's earned a five seed this March and given their most recent game, will most likely be a team without too high of expectations this tournament. Still, Sain Mary's reps a top 10 adjusted defense in the nation and play at one of the slowest paces in the nation. Games against Houston, Gonzaga, and San Diego State has prepped the Gaels for March and they are good enough to ride their defense deep in to the tournament. This team swallows missed shots so any opponent struggling will truly have a tough time keeping up against Saint Mary's second ranked defensive rebounding rate. Offensively, the Gaels rank 40th in the nation at adjusted efficiency - the perfect \"good enough\" number. They can shoot from the perimeter at a high clip, and take care of the ball well. We'll see if Saint Mary's can have a short memory, and reload for the tournament, despite their most recent loss."}" data-sheets-userformat="{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":4,"12":0}">The Gaels of Saint Mary’s were sent home with their tail tucked between their legs after a drubbing against Gonzaga in the WCC title game. Despite ranking 11th in KenPom, Saint Mary’s earned a five seed this March and, given their most recent game, will most likely be a team without too high of expectations this tournament. Still, Saint Mary’s reps a top 10 adjusted defense in the nation and play at one of the slowest paces in the nation. Games against Houston, Gonzaga, and San Diego State have prepped the Gaels for March, and they are good enough to ride their defense deep into the tournament.

This team swallows missed shots, so any opponent struggling will truly have a tough time keeping up against Saint Mary’s second-ranked defensive rebounding rate. Offensively, the Gaels rank 40th in the nation at adjusted efficiency – the perfect “good enough” number. They can shoot from the perimeter at a high clip and take care of the ball well. We’ll see if Saint Mary’s can have a short memory and reload for the tournament, despite their most recent loss.

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VCU 2023 NCAA Tournament Betting Preview

The Rams of VCU rode their top 25 ranked defense through the A10 tournament and into March Madness with Mike Rhoades coaching in his third NCAA Tournament. The Rams only lost three times in conference play, twice by four points or less, and are riding a nine-game winning streak. VCU will cause turnovers, ranking top 10 in the nation at turnover percentage, and are a big team that won’t allow much near proximity. Any team that is lazy with the ball and doesn’t shoot from deep all too well is going to have a lot of problems against VCU.

Offensively, the Rams aren’t too flashy but depend on their top 10 ranked free throw rate to get teams into foul trouble and accrue points from the charity stripe. They need to take care of the ball better if they hope to make a deep tournament run, but their defense is a sustainable force that can easily push them through the first couple of rounds.

Round 1 & First Four Betting Picks & Predictions

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The post Saint Mary’s vs. VCU: 2023 NCAA Tournament Odds, Preview & Predictions appeared first on BettingPros.

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