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Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's Prediction Tonight: WCC Semifinal Best Bets, Odds & Score Picks

Mike Spector

Last Updated: March 10, 2025 2:19 PM EDT • 4 min 30 sec read.

Pictured: Arizona State's Jaydan Quaintance holds down and rebounds the ball against Saint Mary’s defenders Jordan Ross (2) and Augustas Marciulionis (3). Photo by Jay Calderon / The Desert Sun via Imagn Images.

The Pepperdine Waves pulled off a big upset in the West Coast Conference quarterfinals, and now they'll face the Saint Mary's Gaels in the semifinal round. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. ET (ESPN) tonight from Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

Our Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary’s prediction, odds, and expert picks for the WCC semifinal showdown are siding with the Gaels, who our best sports betting sites list as 19.5-point favorites.

Stay on top of the action with Rob Paul's Bracketology: Expert Picks and March Madness Predictions with Selection Sunday looming.

💰 Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's predictions, expert picks & best bets: West Coast Conference Semifinal

Here are my best Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's predictions, expert picks, and best bets today for West Coast Conference Semifinal with my pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale. Be sure to check out the rest of our college basketball picks along with our guide on how to bet on college basketball.

  • Against the spread pick: Saint Mary’s -19.5 (-120 via FanDuel) vs. Pepperdine ⭐⭐⭐
  • My best player prop bet: Largest lead of the game Over 26.5 points (-110 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐
  • Exact score prediction: Saint Mary’s 81, Pepperdine 57 (+17000 via DraftKings) ⭐

🏀 Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's ATS prediction & best prop bet pick

Here's why I'm betting on Saint Mary’s to cover the spread (-19.5) while targeting the largest lead to be 26-plus points as my best player prop bet pick for today:

✅ Saint Mary’s to cover the spread (-19.5) ⭐⭐⭐

By virtue of Saint Mary’s going 17-1 in league play in the regular season, it earned the coveted bye to the semifinal of the WCC Tournament. That puts Pepperdine at a disadvantage, especially since the Gaels are 5-3 ATS with a rest advantage.

Pepperdine’s bread and butter offensively is finding mismatches and using isolation dribble creation. However, among all the defenses in the country, Randy Bennett’s defense is arguably the stingiest in the country against dribble-drive offenses. 

The Gaels allow the seventh-lowest percentage of opponents’ shots to come from 3-point range, while combining that with a top-13 interior defense that allows just 45.6% from inside the arc.

This is a three-star play, as Pepperdine's three games in three days should catch up to it against a well-rested Saint Mary’s squad. Saint Mary’s won the two regular season matchups against Pepperdine 71-41 and 74-50.

I don’t mind paying up slightly in juice for this wager at FanDuel, as this spread is as high as -20.5 at BetMGM and DraftKings.

📊 Best odds: -120 via FanDuel (bet $10 to win $8.33)

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🔥 Largest lead of the game Over 26.5 points ⭐⭐⭐

Knowing that I like Saint Mary’s to cover the full-game spread and seeing as several top sports betting sites have the spread as high as -20.5 points, it is not that far fetched to back the Gaels to have a lead of 27 or more at some point in this game.

Saint Mary’s led Pepperdine by 34 in the first matchup before winning by 30, and 32 in the rematch before winning by 24.

Add in some tired legs for the Waves with this being their fourth game in four days, and the Gaels should once again methodically build a significant lead over the course of 40 minutes. 

📊 Best odds: -110 via DraftKings (bet $10 to win $9.09)

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🎯 Expert Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's score prediction

🔮 Expert score prediction: Saint Mary’s 81, Pepperdine 57

The Gaels have covered 60.2% of their conference games (42-27-2 ATS) since 2021, which is why I’m predicting a final score of Saint Mary’s 81, Pepperdine 57.

📊 Best odds: +17000 via DraftKings (bet $10 to win $1700)

📊 Live Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's odds & latest betting splits

Here are the latest odds for Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's, which update live in real time. You can also check out our NEW college basketball player prop odds tool for the latest college basketball odds on any market across legal sportsbooks in your region.

Pepperdine pulled off the outright upset of Santa Clara in the quarterfinals as a 15.5-point underdog. As such, money has come in on the Waves to cover an opening 20.5-point line against Saint Mary's. The Gaels are now as "little" as 19-point favorites for tonight's WCC semifinal.

🔢 Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's opening odds

Here's a look at the opening odds for Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's according to BetMGM.

  • Spread: Pepperdine +20.5 (-110) | Saint Mary’s -20.5 (-110)
  • Moneyline: Pepperdine +1500 | Saint Mary’s -5000
  • Over/Under: Over 136.5 (-110) | Under 136.5 (-110)

🏆 Who will win Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's?

As of Monday morning, Saint Mary’s is favored by 20.5 points to beat Pepperdine with moneyline odds of -5000 at BetMGM, which suggests a 98.04% win probability for the Gaels. We're predicting an 81-57 win for Saint Mary’s as our final score projection.

So far, 58% of bettors have wagered against the spread on Saint Mary’s -20.5, while 64% of bettors expect the game to finish Under the projected total of 136.5 points.

📺 How to watch Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's tonight

📅 Date: Monday, March 10, 2025
🕗 Time: 9 p.m. ET
📍 Location: Orleans Arena (Las Vegas)
📺 TV: ESPN
💻 Streaming: ESPN+

❓ Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's FAQs

Who's favored to win the West Coast Conference tournament?

Gonzaga is favored to win the West Coast Conference tournament entering the semifinal round with moneyline odds of -140.

Who is favored to win Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's?

Saint Mary’s is the massive favorite to beat Pepperdine. The Gaels are trading at -3600 at our best sports betting apps, giving them a 97.30% implied probability.

What are the betting odds for Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's?

The latest spread is Saint Mary’s -19 (-113 at BetRivers) | Pepperdine +19.5 (-110 at Caesars), with a total ranging from 135 to 135.5 points.

What will be the final score of Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's?

We're predicting a final score of Saint Mary’s 81, Pepperdine 57 entering tonight's matchup at Orleans Arena.

What time is Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's tonight?

Tipoff for Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary’s is tonight at 9 p.m. ET.

⛹️ Best college basketball betting sites

Looking to bet on college basketball tonight? Here are our best March Madness betting sites as determined by our expert team at Sportsbook Review, along with our best March Madness betting promos ahead of the NCAA Tournament.

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Written By:
Mike Spector
Mike started in the sports writing industry in July 2019, and gained a lot of followers in his first year after finishing with the No. 2 overall record in an annual NFL betting competition, which made picks against the spread, and from an Over/Under and moneyline perspective. Mike is an avid fan of the NFL, MLB, tennis, and all college sports. In his opinion, March Madness is the best sporting event there is, and he's especially euphoric starting with conference tournament time in college basketball. Mike's a big advocate of "fading the public" and making plays that are contrarian, constantly citing that "there are reasons why they have those big shiny buildings in Las Vegas." When making wagers, Mike always scours the best odds at all of the major sports betting sites, where he mostly sifts through DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and bet365. He's tried several others and is of the firm belief that bettors should not just stick to one sportsbook, as there is always likely better value to be had with the same wager. In addition, while Mike received his undergraduate degree from Villanova University, he has no issue betting against the Wildcats when it comes to college basketball wagering, and suggests other bettors should always put their “head” before their “hearts.”