St. Louis vs Georgia Prediction 3/19/2026 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The Saint Louis Billikens and the Georgia Bulldogs meet Thursday in NCAA Tournament First Round college basketball action from KeyBank Center in Buffalo. Here’s a Saint Louis vs Georgia prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Saint Louis vs Georgia pick. We will examine the recent form and player performances for both teams, as well as the recent betting trends and streaks pertaining to this matchup. As we conclude, we will tie it all together with a summary that produces a sensible pick for a favorable betting outcome in this game.

Saint Louis Billikens Betting Preview

The Billikens’ first 25 games this year were a great run, featuring a lone loss to Stanford on November 28. St. Louis finished off the regular season with a 3-3 stretch that contained losses to Rhode Island, Dayton and George Mason. After a win over George Washington in the conference tournament the Billikens fell to Dayton last weekend, giving the team a 28-5 run.

In the Dayton game last Saturday the Billikens were doing okay by the break on a 36-33 advantage. St. Louis hit a 37-33 deficit the rest of the way however, posting an eventual 70-69 loss in the end. Amari McCottry led the team in the losing effort with his 16 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Robbie Avila added 14 points with nine boards.

Georgia Bulldogs Betting Preview

Over on the Georgia side, they got off to a nice 16-3 start this year, then fell to Texas, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Florida and Oklahoma during a 1-5 run. The Bulldogs went 5-1 to finish off the regular season, taking out Kentucky, Texas, South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi State. Georgia would then fall to Ole Miss in the conference tourney’s first game.

In the matchup last Thursday versus Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament, the Bulldogs were down 34-20 going into the locker room after the first half. Georgia tried to come back on a 52-42 run but it wasn’t enough in the 76-72 loss. Kanon Catchings led the team on 19 points with six rebounds and three steals while Marcus Millender added 11 points with four rebounds and four assists.

Saint Louis Billikens @ Georgia Bulldogs Betting Trends: March 19, 2026

Why the Georgia Bulldogs will win

• Georgia has won 26 of its last 27 night games against non-Conference opponents.
• Saint Louis has lost each of its last four games against the Southeastern Conference at neutral venues.
• Georgia has won the first half in 24 of its last 28 night games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the Saint Louis Billikens will win

• Saint Louis has won each of its last eight Thursday games played at neutral venues.

Total Points Facts

• Each of Saint Louis’ last 10 games against non-AP-ranked opponents have produced a total of 169 or fewer points.
• Twenty-four of Georgia’s last 25 games at a neutral venue have produced a total of 165 or fewer points.

Matchup/League Facts

• Georgia ranks 5th among Division 1 teams for field goal attempts per game this season (65.5).
• Georgia ranks 360th among Division 1 teams for opponent field goal attempts per game this season (64.9).
• Saint Louis ranks 4th among Division 1 teams for effective field goal percentage this season (60.4%).
• Saint Louis ranks 5th among Division 1 teams for point differential per game this season (+18.7).

Saint Louis vs Georgia Prediction

I’ll lean toward Saint Louis, but you could call this one either way. The Billikens shot a reasonable 43.1 percent from the field in their loss to Dayton while giving up just 34.5 percent on defense. That said, Saint Louis got into turnover trouble (18 for 19 Flyers points) and fell victim to a nice 82.8 percent (24-of-29) performance from the line by Dayton. That makes fewer than 70 points in two of the last three games (both losses) for the Billikens.

As for Georgia, they didn’t shoot well (36.4 percent) from the field in the matchup with Ole Miss and had a slight disadvantage on the boards 38-36. The Bulldogs simply couldn’t overcome their slow first half. Georgia has still scored 72 or more points in eight straight games, and they’ve won three of the last four. In truth, both these teams could use a good showing here.

Andrew Jett's Pick: Saint Louis Billikens +1.5