Saint Louis Billikens vs Georgia Bulldogs Prediction, 3/19/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Saint Louis Billikens vs Georgia Bulldogs

Date: Thursday, March 19, 2026

Location: KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: Georgia (-3)

KeyBank Center is the site where the Georgia Bulldogs (22-10) will take on the Saint Louis Billikens (28-5) on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Saint Louis is 3-point underdogs from Vegas oddsmakers. The betting total comes in at 169.

The Saint Louis Billikens played Dayton and ended up losing by a score of 70-69 in their last game. Saint Louis finished the contest having earned a 43.1% FG percentage (22 out of 51) and buried 10 out of their 28 3-point shots. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Billikens knocked down 15 of their 17 tries for a rate of 88.2%. Pertaining to rebounding, they collected a total of 33 with 7 of them being of the offensive sort. They also distributed 19 dimes for this contest in addition to forcing 9 turnovers and getting 7 steals. In regard to defending, Saint Louis allowed their opponent to shoot 34.5% from the floor on 19 of 55 shooting. Dayton totaled 15 assists and had 5 steals for this contest. Moreover, Dayton totaled 40 rebounds (16 offensive, 24 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Dayton walked away from this one shooting 82.8% from the charity stripe by making 24 of their 29 tries. They buried 8 out of their 24 attempts from downtown. Concerning fouls, the Billikens ended up with 16 and Dayton recorded 21 fouls.

Amari McCottry is a player who was a contributor in this game. He racked up 16 points on 7 out of 11 shooting. He saw the court for 29 minutes and also grabbed 8 rebounds. He finished the game at 63.6% from the field and earned 5 assists.

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Saint Louis enters this matchup with a win-loss mark of 28-5 on the campaign. They cough up possession 12.5 times per game and as a unit they commit 18.3 fouls every game. As a team, Saint Louis is snagging 39.9 boards per game and is sitting with 605 dimes this season, which is 8th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Billikens are shooting 40.1% on shots from distance (360 of 898) and 74.4% from the free throw line. They average 87.2 points per outing (10th in Division 1) while going 50.9% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Billikens are forcing 11.7 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.5 personal fouls. They are relinquishing 29.4% on 3-point shots and they are 63rd in the nation in PPG allowed (69.5). The Billikens defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 37.9% (756 of 1,997) and they surrender 32.4 boards per contest as a team. They are currently ranked 67th in the country in giving up assists with 389 relinquished on the season.

For their last game, the Georgia Bulldogs took a loss by a final score of 76-72 when they faced Ole Miss. The Bulldogs recorded 22 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive rebounds for a total of 36 for the matchup. They also gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while getting 11 steals for the matchup. Ole Miss was called for 20 personal fouls in the game which took the Bulldogs to the free throw line for a total of 25 attempts. They were able to knock down 15 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 60.0%. In reference to shooting from distance, Georgia made 9 of their 38 attempts (23.7%). At the conclusion of this game, the Bulldogs ended up going 24 out of 66 from the field which had them shooting 36.4%. The Bulldogs permitted Ole Miss to make 27 out of 60 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 45.0% for this contest. They finished 45.0% from beyond the perimeter by connecting on 9 out of 20 and ended up going 13 out of 18 at the charity stripe (72.2%). In reference to rebounding, Georgia allowed Ole Miss to collect 38 in total (8 on the offensive glass).

Kanon Catchings ended up being a major contributor for the Bulldogs for this game. He made 7 out of 16 in this contest for a rate of 43.8%, and had 6 rebounds. He earned 19 points in his 30 minutes on the hardwood, but finished this game without an assist.

Georgia has a mark of 22-10 this year. As an offense, the Bulldogs are hitting on 47.1% from the floor, which is ranked 63rd in the nation. Georgia has accounted for 2,874 points on the campaign (89.8 per contest) and they average 38.2 boards per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 14.9 times per contest (112th in Division 1) and they turn it over 10.7 times per contest. The Bulldogs are committing 17.0 personal fouls every game and they connect on 75.4% from the free throw line.

The Georgia defense allows 33.7% from downtown (262 of 778) and opponents are converting on 71.7% of their free throw attempts. They have conceded 13.4 assists and 37.5 total boards per game, ranking them 186th and 334th in those categories. The Bulldogs are ranked 315th in college in points allowed per contest with 79.2. They have forced 13.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 43.8% from the field (154th in college).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Georgia (-3)

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