The 2024-25 college basketball season begins on Monday and the Saint Louis Billikens will take on the Santa Clara Broncos in The Field of 68 Opening Day Showcase. The event, which is being hosted by the Sanford Pentagon in South Dakota, also features Charleston vs. SIU and McNeese State vs. South Dakota State later in the day. Robbie Avila, who became an internet sensation last season while playing for Indiana State, will make his debut for Saint Louis after transferring this offseason. Meanwhile, Santa Clara welcomes back eight key rotation players from a squad that won 20 games a season ago.
Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. ET. Santa Clara is favored by 1.5 points in the latest Saint Louis vs. Santa Clara odds via SportsLine consensus, while the over/under is 159 points, down half a point from the opener. Before entering any Santa Clara vs. Saint Louis picks, you’ll want to see the college basketball predictions from the proven model at SportsLine.
The model simulates every Division 1 college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters the 2024-25 season on a 153-110 betting roll (+1891) on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to 2023. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps has seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Saint Louis vs. Santa Clara. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball betting lines for the Santa Clark vs. Saint Louis game:
- Saint Louis vs. Santa Clara spread: Santa Clara -1.5
- Saint Louis vs. Santa Clara over/under: 159 points
- Saint Louis vs. Santa Clara money line: Santa Clara -127, Saint Louis +106
- Saint Louis vs. Santa Clara picks: See picks here
Why Saint Louis can cover
The Billikens enjoyed four seasons of 20 wins or more in a five-year span with Travis Ford at the helm but slipped to 13-20 last season and ultimately decided to turn the page with Indiana State head coach Josh Schertz. He led the Sycamores to 32 wins in 2023-24 and a second-place finish in the NIT. Now, he heads to the Gateway City and he’s bringing reinforcement with him.
Avila and Isaiah Swope were both stars for Schertz at Indiana State and they’ll follow him to Saint Louis. Schertz also welcomes back Gibson Jimerson as a holdover from the previous coaching staff. Jimerson ranks fifth in SLU history in scoring and is the NCAA’s active leader in 3-point field goals made (312). See which team to pick here.
Why Santa Clara can cover
Herb Sendek has guided the Broncos to 20-win seasons in each of the last three years and he’s got a large chunk of his roster back in 2024-25. Adama-Alpha Bal was first-team All-WCC last year and Christoph Tilly was All-WCC honorable mention. Both are back this season, as is All-WCC Freshman Jake Ensminger.
Santa Clara will also welcome back Carlos Stewart Jr., who was first-team All-WCC in 2022-23 before transferring to LSU for a season. Stewart elected to transfer back to Santa Clara after a knee injury derailed his season at LSU. The Broncos are 13-4-1 against the spread over their last 18 games and figure to be conference championship contenders in the WCC this season. See which team to pick here.
How to make Saint Louis vs. Santa Clara picks
The model has simulated Santa Clara vs. Saint Louis 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Under the total, and it’s also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in over 50% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Santa Clara vs. Saint Louis, and which side of the spread hits over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Saint Louis vs. Santa Clara spread you need to jump on, all from the model that is on a 153-110 roll on top-rated college basketball picks, and find out.
