The Grand Canyon Antelopes are the champions of the Western Athletic Conference, and that gets them an automatic invitation to the NCAA Tournament. But what many BetOnline patrons, or fans in general for that matter, aren't aware of is that they stand alone as an institution among Big Dance teams.

Colleges, as a rule, are non-profit corporations. But Grand Canyon is a FOR-profit college, and it is also publicly traded on NASDAQ. The symbol is "LOPE".

Because of their status, they have become relatively controversial. For example, Arizona State University, located in same state, refused to engage in athletic competition with GCU for many years before reversing its field. They just weren't interested in doing anything with a for-profit company.

Grand Canyon (25-4 SU, 18-14 ATS), it goes without saying, is sufficiently capitalized. And so there is a marketing initiative. Part of its involves atheltics, for purposes of promoting the school, which has become very prominent in the field of online education. And they have spent some money toward this end. First they brought in Dan Majerle, a former star with the Phoenix Suns.

Now it's Bryce Drew, a former star at Valparaiso who made a famous game-winning shot against Ole Miss in the 1998 NCAA's, then went on to coach at Valpo, Vanderbilt and now Grand Canyon. He has taken all of them to the Big Dance. And Valpo, under his direction, reached the 2016 NIT final.

They have a good story. But so do the Saint Mary's Gaels (26-7 SU, 18-14 ATS), their opponent in the first round of the West Regional.

This is a program that has gradually taken control over the West Coast Conference, taking two of three against Gonzaga this season, including the conference championship game. They lost five of their last eight games, but have now won 23 of their last 25.

In the NCAA West Regional betting odds established on this game by the people at BetOnline, the Gaels are the favorites:

Saint Mary's Gaels -6
Grand Canyon Antelopes +6

Over 131.5 points -110
Under 131.5 points -110

Saint Mary's is slower than Heinz catchup, standing 358th in the nation in the category of Adjusted Tempo. They are deliberate on offense, and try to make their opponent work the ball very hard when they are on the defensive end. They have balanced scoring, with five players averaging in double figures.

Grand Canyon's star player is Tyon Grant-Foster, who has had quite an odyssey, going from junior college to Kansas to DePaul, where he collapsed with a heart problem and only played one game. Almost two years later, Drew took a chance with him at GCU and it has paid off handsomely. He scored 22 points in the WAC title game against UT-Arlington and had 28 against Seattle the game before that. He averages 19.8 points 1.4 blocks and 1.7 steals. And he was named WAC Player of the Year.

He's complemented by a number of good people, including Gabe McGlothen, a talented shot-blocker; Collin Moore, a disruptive backcourt defender, and Ray Harrison, a dynamic point guard.

Augustas Marciulionis is the WCC Player of the Year, and he is the backcourt standout for Saint Mary's. Mitchell Saxen is a 6-10 center who is the intimidating defensive presence and an outstanding rebounder. And Alex Ducas does a great job of spreading defenses out (44.4% from the arc).

Grand Canyon seems to need to get to the line to be successful on offense. So they'll have to draw fouls. But the Gaels are fourth best in the nation defending two-pointers and fifth in EFG% on D. They are also the best rebounding team in the country (first on defense, third on offense). So they are going to deny second shots and create the same for themselves.

Control of the boards. That points us toward favored SMC in this first round game.

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