The Grand Canyon Lopes make a non‑conference road trip to take on the undefeated Saint Louis Billikens at Chaifetz Arena on Saturday night. Both teams come in with potent offenses and it will be up to the defenses on each side to figure out how to get enough stops to win this game. Here, I break down this non-conference college basketball matchup and give you my Grand Canyon vs Saint Louis prediction.
Pick: Over 170.5
Confidence: ★★★★☆
Saint Louis has opened the season with a bang, cruising to three straight wins by an average margin of around 30 points. Amari McCottry poured in 23 points in their most recent game, a 109–66 rout of Lindenwood. The Billikens are firing on all cylinders early, ranking highly in adjusted field-goal percentage and leading the NCAA in scoring at 103.0 points per game. Their offensive efficiency and firepower make them a dangerous opponent. But GCU will be their biggest test of the season so far.
Grand Canyon also faces its biggest test of the non-conference season here. The Lopes are 2–1 so far, with strong contributions from Jaden Henley (16.7 ppg) and Nana Owusu‑Anane (15.3 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 5.0 apg). Grand Canyon coach Bryce Drew knows the magnitude of this game, calling it a “Quad 1” opportunity and emphasizing that Saint Louis represents an early barometer for the Lopes’ NCAA Tournament ambitions.
This is the first true road game of the season for GCU. They went 2-1 at home to start the season, scoring a lot in all three games but looking vulnerable on defense against Youngstown State. The Lopes will need to find a way to stop one of the best bigs in college basketball in Robbie Avila if they are going to have a chance to steal this one.
My best bet for this game is for it to go over the total in St. Louis. The Billikens are averaging over 100 points per game early in the season and they should put up another big number offensively against a GCU team that hasn't faced an offense this good just yet. Look for both of these teams to do plenty of scoring and for the game to exceed the 170-point mark.
Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.
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