Saint Mary's vs. Notre Dame Prediction and Odds: Expect a Low-Scoring, Tough Defensive Battle

The late game Monday night should be one of the more competitive of the day, and absolutely worth staying up to wager on.

Maui Invitational action finishes up tonight with Saint Mary’s and Notre Dame facing off in Round 1 action. One of these teams will suffer their first loss tonight and see a swift exit from the tournament. 

The Saint Mary’s Gaels enter this game 4-0 but had to fight hard for wins over Prarie View A&M and Texas Southern in the last week. So, the Gaels are undefeated but have struggled to contain weaker teams over the first few games of the year. Saint Mary's relies heavily on their staunch defense and are 16th in adjusted defensive efficiency and sixth in opponent assists per game. 

Notre Dame comes off a win over High Point at home and will try to move to 3-0 and into the semifinals with a win tonight. The Irish came out and punched High Point right in the mouth, reeling off 17 unanswered points early, and never looked back. One area of concern, however, is the Irish’s 36.4% field goal percentage including a six for 31 mark from deep in that win. 

Here are the odds for this matchup, courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook.

Saint Mary's vs. Notre Dame Odds, Spread, and Total

Spread:

• Saint Mary’s +1.0 (-116)
• Notre Dame -1.0 (-108)

Moneyline:

• Saint Mary’s -105
• Notre Dame -115

Total: 132.0 (Over -110/Under -110)

Saint Mary's vs. Notre Dame Prediction and Pick

I think Saint Mary’s matches up very well against this Notre Dame team who has struggled a bit in the shooting department. As I mentioned above, the Gaels are a defensive-minded team and will make things tough for the Irish on the offensive side of things. Both teams have veteran leadership to help them along the way, but the defenses on both sides should dominate. 

After Notre Dame’s poor night of shooting their last time out I lack the faith in this team, and its offense, to pick up an underdog win here. However, I have some of the same feelings about the Gaels as well. Two teams that play very good defense and have shaky offenses have me leaning very hard towards a play on the under here. 

Pick: Saint Mary’s & Notre Dame UNDER 132.0 (-110)