Chattanooga vs. Saint Mary's prediction, odds, pick for College Basketball

It's time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Chattanooga-Saint Mary's prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Chattanooga-Saint Mary's.

The Saint Mary's Gaels opened their season with a win over Towson earlier this week. They weren't especially convincing, prevailing by a modest seven-point margin on a night when they could never fully pull away from their tenacious opponent. Early-season college basketball can be a highly confusing experience, because you have no idea how various mid-major teams will evolve over the course of the season. It is a natural point of interest — and curiosity — to wonder if Towson will become a strong mid-major team over the course of the season. Maybe beating Towson by seven is a really good result. We don't know. We do know Saint Mary's failed to cover the 11.5-point spread and that the Gaels did not play their best game. College basketball watchers will want to see SMC perform at a higher level and demonstrate a readiness to produce a strong nonconference resume, something the Gaels haven't consistently done in recent years. Coach Randy Bennett enters this game against Chattanooga knowing he has a lot of work to do.

Chattanooga began its season by losing at USC by 26 points in a game which was never particularly close. Chattanooga has some quick guards but is a small and undersized team. The Mocs are likely to have problems on the glass and in finishing shots near the rim. They don't have the length or size to be able to finish plays over opposing defenders. That will be a complication the Mocs will need to solve, and it will most likely come from running really crisp halfcourt sets to get open shots through screens, cuts, and other actions. Chattanooga got punched in the mouth by USC. Let's see if we get a significant forward step and noticeable evolution from the Mocs in their second game of the young campaign.

Here are the Chattanooga-Saint Mary's College Basketball Odds , courtesy of FanDuel

College Basketball Odds: Chattanooga-Saint Mary's Odds

Chattanooga: +15.5 (-114)

Moneyline: +980

Saint Mary's: -15.5 (-106)

Moneyline: -2000

Over: 139.5 (-104)

Under: 139.5 (-118)

How to Watch Chattanooga-Saint Mary's

Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT

TV: ESPN Plus

Stream: fuboTV ( Free Trial )

Why Chattanooga Will Cover The Spread/Win

Saint Mary's beat Towson by only seven points at home. Chattanooga doesn't need to match that spread to cover. It can be eight whole points worse than Towson and still cover the spread. Saint Mary's was not convincing at all in its opening game of the season. The Gaels might be in a position where they need a few weeks, not just a few games, to clean up their mistakes and get to a point where they are firing on all cylinders. If SMC plays anywhere close to what it did versus Towson, it is highly unlikely to cover this fat point spread against Chattanooga.

Why Saint Mary's Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Chattanooga Mocs looked very weak and underequipped against USC. As noted above, they do not have a whole lot of size or length, and that will make it much harder for them to function at both ends of the floor. Saint Mary's plays very tough defense and runs very good offense. The Gaels should be able to get a lot of defensive stops and then create the shots they want at the other end of the floor. They are unlikely to be bothered in this game.