The Vanderbilt Commodores take on the Saint Mary’s Gaels in the NCAA Tournament. Tip-off is set for 3:15 p.m. ET on truTV.
Saint Mary’s is favored by 4.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -192. The total is set at 136.5 points.
Here are my Vanderbilt vs. Saint Mary’s predictions and college basketball picks for March 21, 2025.
Vanderbilt Commodores vs Saint Mary’s Gaels Prediction, Picks
- Pick: Saint Mary’s -3.5 (Play to -4)
My Saint Mary’s vs. Vanderbilt best bet is on the Gaels spread, with the best odds currently available at Caesars. For all of your college basketball bets, find the best lines using our live NCAAB odds page.
Vanderbilt vs Saint Mary’s Odds, Spread, Lines
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- Vanderbilt vs Saint Mary’s spread: Saint Mary’s -4.5, Vanderbilt +4.5
- Vanderbilt vs Saint Mary’s over/under: 136
- Vanderbilt vs Saint Mary’s moneyline: Saint Mary’s ML -205, Vanderbilt ML +170
Spread
I’m laying the points with the Gaels.
Moneyline
I’m passing on the moneyline.
Over/Under
I’m passing on the over/under.
My Pick: Saint Mary’s -3.5 (Play to -4)
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Vanderbilt vs Saint Mary’s NCAA Tournament Preview
I’ll lay the points with Saint Mary’s.
You can pick and choose when coaching experience matters. But Mark Byington has coached in two NCAA Tournament games, while Randy Bennett has coached in 15. I think that matters.
I also think there’s been a slight overreaction in the markets to the Gaels’ past two NCAA Tournament runs. Grand Canyon was a brutal matchup for them last year, and UConn beat them en route to a National Championship two years ago.
I don’t think they have issues prepping for the Big Dance. Instead, I think they’ve been a little snake-bitten with their draws.
Saint Mary’s is playing well entering March. The Gaels rank fifth in defensive efficiency over the past six weeks, and defense should travel into the Big Dance.
They’re also an excellent road team in general, ranking second nationally in Haslametrics Away-From-Home metric. That means a lot to me, considering this tournament will be played at neutral sites.
It’ll be nice if Saint Mary’s makes some 3s, which the Gaels failed to do in the WCC Tournament Title game against Gonzaga. However, they hung in that game for 40 minutes despite shooting 0-for-16 from deep.
More importantly, I think they got their worst game out of their system and are in for a big bounce-back game against Vanderbilt.