Belmont Bruins vs Evansville Purple Aces Prediction, 12/21/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Belmont Bruins vs Evansville Purple Aces

Date: Monday, December 21, 2020

Location: Ford Center in Evansville, IN

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Belmont (-8.5)

The Evansville Purple Aces (2-3) host the Belmont Bruins (7-1) at Ford Center on Monday. The spread on this contest has Belmont as 8.5-point favorites. The over/under opens at 137.5.

Belmont will enter this contest with a record of 7-1 on the season. The Bruins are shooting 33.2% on shots from downtown (70 of 211) and 71.8% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 80.0 pts per contest (80th in the nation) on 47.5% from the floor. They lose possession via turnover 13.6 times per contest and as a unit are committing 16.1 fouls every game. As a team, Belmont is pulling in 37.3 boards per contest and has accounted for 118 assists so far this year, which has them ranked 39th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. When they are on defense, the Bruins are forcing 15.6 turnovers per contest and they draw 21.3 fouls. They relinquish 29.5% from beyond the arc and they are 161st in college basketball in PPG from their opponents (69.1). The Bruins are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 41.6% (206 of 495) and they relinquish 36.8 rebounds per contest as a squad. They are ranked 230th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 89 surrendered this year.

The Belmont Bruins faced off with the Tennessee State Tigers and took home the win by a score of 88-63 in their last contest. Belmont ended with a 51.6% field goal percentage (32 out of 62) and buried 8 of their 24 3-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Bruins made 16 of their 20 attempts for a rate of 80.0%. Regarding grabbing boards, they earned 40 with 12 of them being of the offensive sort. They also distributed 17 assists in this matchup as well as earning 8 steals and 2 blocks. When discussing the defense, Belmont allowed the other team to go 51.6% from the field on 32 out of 62. Tennessee State earned 9 assists and 9 steals in the matchup. Moreover, the Tigers pulled down 23 rebounds (6 offensive, 17 defensive) and added 2 blocked shots. Tennessee State went 76.9% at the free throw line by making 10 of their 13 shots. They knocked down 7 of their 26 shots from long range.

Nick Muszynski is one player who was a factor for the game. He totaled 13 points on 4 of 5 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 17 mins and collected 7 rebounds. Muszynski ended up shooting 80.0% from the field and also dished out 2 dimes. Someone else that was a major contributor in this game for the Bruins was Grayson Murphy. He collected 9 rebounds and had 3 dimes. He ended up shooting 57.1% from the field in the game by shooting 4-of-7 (8 points). When the final whistle blew, Murphy was on the court for 25 minutes.

Evansville has a mark of 2-3 for the campaign. Evansville has earned 326 points this year (65.2 per game) and they collect 31.8 rebounds per contest. The Purple Aces are committing 18.2 personal fouls per game and they go 65.8% from the charity stripe. As an offensive team, the Purple Aces are shooting 39.2% from the field, which has them ranked 317th in the country. They are earning an assist 11.2 times per game (285th in the nation) and they turn the ball over 12.2 times per contest. The Purple Aces on defense are ranked 231st in Division 1 in points per game surrendered with 72.8. They relinquish 12.6 dimes and 38.2 total rebounds per game, which ranks 165th and 260th in those defensive categories. The Evansville defense concedes 46.0% on shots from beyond the arc (40 of 87) and their opposition makes 65.2% of their free throw shots. They are able to force 13.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 46.6% from the floor (284th in college hoops).

When they last played, the Evansville Purple Aces got the victory with a final of 66-63 when they played the SE Missouri State Redhawks. The Purple Aces snagged 26 defensive rebounds and 5 offensive boards for a total of 31 in the matchup. They blocked 4 attempts while recording 4 steals in the matchup. The Redhawks earned 24 fouls in the matchup which got the Purple Aces to the free throw line for a total of 22 tries. They were able to bury 16 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 72.7%. In terms of shots from distance, Evansville made 8 of 23 tries (34.8%). When the final whistle blew, the Purple Aces shot 21 for 54 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 38.9%. The Purple Aces allowed the Redhawks to convert 23 of 55 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.8% in the game. They finished 50.0% from three-point range by shooting 8 out of 16 and finished the contest at 9 out of 15 from the free throw line (60.0%). When it comes to team rebounding, Evansville allowed SE Missouri State to grab 38 in total (8 offensive).

Jawaun Newton pitched in for the Purple Aces for this contest. He made 4 out of 11 in this game for a field goal rate of 36.4%, which had him finishing with 15 points. Newton grabbed 4 rebounds in his 40 minutes and had 2 assists for this contest. Another guy that ended being a contributor for Evansville was Shamar Givance. He ended up scoring 20 points in 39 minutes on the hardwood by way of 7 out of 13 shooting in this game. Givance ended the game having shot 53.8% from the field in addition to collecting 5 assists and 3 rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Evansville (+8.5)

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