St. Mary's Gaels vs Pepperdine Waves Prediction, 12/30/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Mary's Gaels vs Pepperdine Waves

Date: Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Location: Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, CA

TV: ESPN+

The St. Mary's Gaels (11-2) are en route to Firestone Fieldhouse on Tuesday where they will attempt to defeat the Pepperdine Waves (5-8).

The St. Mary's Gaels faced UNI and went home with a win by a final score of 63-58 in their last contest. Regarding personal fouls, the Gaels ended up finishing with 11 while UNI totaled 23 personal fouls. They also buried 7 of 20 attempts from 3-point range. UNI finished the game shooting 75.0% when shooting free throws by making 3 of their 4 attempts. Additionally, UNI snagged 22 rebounds (2 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't have a block. UNI totaled 18 dimes and had 7 steals in this game. When it comes to the defense, St. Mary's allowed their opponent to shoot 43.6% from the field on 24 out of 55 shooting. They also distributed 10 dimes for the contest while creating 8 turnovers and having 6 steals. When talking about hauling in rebounds, they collected 40 with 13 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Gaels knocked down 25 of their 27 shots for a rate of 92.6%. St. Mary's finished the game with a 32.1% FG percentage (17 of 53) and knocked down 4 of 20 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Paulius Murauskas is a guy who was a contributor for this game. He accounted for 20 points on 6 of 18 shooting. He was on the court for 34 minutes played and grabbed 7 boards. He shot 33.3% from the floor but didn't record a dime.

Get all of our NCAA Picks Today

St. Mary's comes into this contest with a win-loss mark of 11-2 for the campaign. They have an average of 79.1 pts per game (145th in college) while hitting 45.8% from the field. The Gaels are connecting on 35.5% on 3-point shots (92 of 259) and 80.9% from the charity stripe. As a unit, St. Mary's is pulling in 41.1 boards per game and is sitting with 187 assists this year, which has them ranked 164th in the country in terms of passing. They turn the ball over 11.9 times per game and as a group they commit 16.2 fouls per game.

On defense, the Gaels are forcing 11.4 turnovers every game while drawing 19.8 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 137th in D-1 in giving up assists with 160 surrendered on the season. The Gaels defensively are allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 39.4% (304 of 772) and they concede 29.5 rebounds per game as a team. They surrender 29.6% from beyond the arc while they are 20th in college in PPG allowed (64.3).

In their last game, the Pepperdine Waves took home the win by a final score of 84-62 when they played Rice. In regard to how they cleaned up the glass, Pepperdine allowed Rice to collect 32 in total (13 on the offensive glass). They finished the game shooting 25.0% from 3-point land by shooting 5 of 20 and finished the contest at 15 out of 22 from the charity stripe (68.2%). The Waves allowed Rice to convert 21 of 63 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 33.3% for this contest. When the final whistle was blown, the Waves walked away from this one shooting 29 for 59 from the floor which had them at 49.2%. Regarding 3-point attempts, Pepperdine knocked down 13 of 24 tries (54.2%). They were able to convert 13 of the free throws for a rate of 81.3%. Rice was called for 16 personal fouls for the contest which took the Waves to the charity stripe for 16 tries. They gave up possession 12 times, while recording 5 steals for this contest. The Waves were able to snag 22 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 32 for the game.

Aaron Clark was important for the Waves in this matchup. He knocked down 7 of 17 for the contest for a field goal percentage of 41.2%, and had 6 rebounds. He accumulated 25 points in his 34 mins on the hardwood and had 3 dimes for the contest.

Pepperdine has a mark of 5-8 this season. As an offense, the Waves are hitting on 44.4% from the floor, which is ranked 244th in the nation. Pepperdine has totaled 968 pts on the season (74.5 per game) and they pull in 36.1 rebounds per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.6 times per contest (180th in college hoops) and they are turning it over 13.2 times per contest. The Waves have committed 15.6 personal fouls per game and they shoot 78.4% from the charity stripe.

The Waves are ranked 195th in Division 1 in PPG allowed with 73.8. They have forced 11.6 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.5% from the floor (184th in the country). The Pepperdine defense gives up 33.0% on shots from beyond the perimeter (110 of 333) and their opponents are converting on 74.0% of their shots from the charity stripe. They relinquish 13.8 dimes and 32.6 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks them 216th and 96th in college hoops.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Pepperdine

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Get college basketball picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bets by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.