Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs UAB Blazers Prediction, 12/23/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs UAB Blazers

Date: Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Location: Bartow Arena in Birmingham, AL

TV: CBSSN

Odds/Point Spread: Georgia Tech (+1.5)

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (4-3) go to Bartow Arena on Wednesday where they'll take on the UAB Blazers (7-1). UAB opens this game as 1.5-point favorites. The total has been set at 142.5.

Georgia Tech enters this game with a win-loss record of 4-3 on the season. They currently have an average of 82.7 pts per contest (50th in Division 1) while hitting 45.5% from the field. The Yellow Jackets are connecting on 32.3% on three-point attempts (54 of 167) and 74.4% from the free throw line. As a team, Georgia Tech is snagging 36.9 boards per game and has accounted for 115 dimes so far this year, which is 63rd in college hoops in terms of passing the rock. They are losing possession via turnover 11.9 times per contest and as a group they commit 17.9 fouls every game. When they are on defense, the Yellow Jackets are able to force 15.6 turnovers every game while drawing 18.4 personal fouls. The Yellow Jackets defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 45.2% (192 of 425) and they relinquish 35.4 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They are 261st in the nation in giving up assists with 102 conceded on the year. They are surrendering 38.6% on 3-pointers and they are 279th in college basketball in points per game from their opponents (77.0).

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets played the Delaware State Hornets and walked away with a win by a score of 97-69 in their last contest. Georgia Tech finished the game with a 55.0% field goal percentage (33 out of 60) and made 9 of 23 3-pointers. At the charity stripe, the Yellow Jackets made 22 of their 28 shots for a percentage of 78.6%. In reference to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 33 with 5 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 25 assists for the game as well as earning 9 steals and 2 blocked shots. When it comes to defending, Georgia Tech let their opponent shoot 55.0% from the field on 33 of 60. Delaware State distributed 12 dimes and 4 steals in the matchup. On top of that, the Hornets snagged 29 boards (5 offensive, 24 defensive) and got 2 blocks. Delaware State finished the game shooting 71.4% at the free throw line by knocking down 15 of their 21 tries. They converted 8 out of their 26 attempts from beyond the perimeter.

Jose Alvarado is someone who was important for this contest. He accounted for 29 points on 11 of 14 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 28 mins played and also collected 2 boards. Alvarado finished shooting 78.6% from the floor and earned 5 dimes. An additional guy that played big minutes in this matchup for the Yellow Jackets was Jordan Usher. He pulled down 5 rebounds and also accounted for 6 dimes. He walked away from this one shooting 60.0% from the floor in this game by connecting on 3-of-5 (10 points). When the final whistle blew, Usher was on the court for 26 minutes.

UAB has a record of 7-1 for the season. As an offense, the Blazers are shooting 47.8% from the floor, which ranks them 90th in the nation. UAB has tallied 641 pts this season (80.1 per contest) and they snag 40.6 rebounds per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 9.1 times per contest (322nd in college basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.5 times per game. The Blazers commit 18.1 fouls per contest while shooting 70.3% from the free throw line. The Blazers on the defensive side of the court are 13th in D-1 in PPG surrendered with 56.5. The UAB defense concedes 22.8% on shots from behind the 3-point line (39 of 171) and opponents are connecting on 63.7% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 8.6 dimes and 37.3 boards per game, which ranks them 15th and 241st in D-1. They are forcing their opponents into 18.0 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 34.4% from the floor (6th in college basketball).

The last time they took the court, the UAB Blazers took a defeat with a final score of 69-66 against the Chattanooga Mocs. The Blazers pulled down 27 defensive boards and 12 offensive rebounds for a total of 39 for this contest. They blocked 7 attempts while earning 7 steals in this game. The Mocs earned 14 personal fouls for this game which got the Blazers to the free throw line for 9 attempts. They were able to bury 5 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 55.6%. Pertaining to shots from downtown, UAB knocked down 3 out of their 16 attempts (18.8%). Overall, the Blazers went 29 out of 65 from the floor which had them shooting 44.6%. The Blazers allowed the Mocs to convert 25 of 54 tries from the field which had them shooting 46.3% for the contest. They finished 36.8% from distance by hitting 7 of 19 and ended up going 12 out of 17 from the charity stripe (70.6%). When talking about rebounding, UAB permitted Chattanooga to get 31 in all (5 on the offensive side).

Tavin Lovan ended up having an impact for the Blazers for this game. He made 4 out of 9 for the matchup for a field goal rate of 44.4%, which had him finishing with 10 points. Lovan collected 2 rebounds in his 25 mins played and accounted for 2 assists for the matchup. One more player who saw a lot of minutes for UAB was Michael Ertel. He notched 18 points in his 32 minutes on the court by way of 9 of 19 shooting for this contest. Ertel finished going 47.4% from the field while also earning 2 assists and 6 total rebounds.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take UAB (-1.5) and over 142.5 points

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