UAB vs. Saint Mary's

The Saint Mary's Gaels were once upon a time the doormat in the West Coast Conference, but that has changed over the past several years. Now they seem to be chasing Gonzaga every season. They will take on 3-2 UAB at the Orleans Center in Las Vegas. The Gaels rank #15 in the country, and even the Coach Randy Bennett has sized his team up as not being very quick, so his emphasis has been on the defensive end for this one. UAB returns 11 of the top 12 players from a 26-7 team a year ago, so the Blazers are talented, deep, and pretty good. They have gotten after it on the defensive end limiting three of five opponents to 40% shooting or less. The Gaels have not allowed any of its four opponents to shoot better than 46%, and with both teams coming in on five days of rest, they will have fresh legs. Neutral courts sometimes are tough to get used to and may slow the scoring here as well. Make the play on the UNDER.