Houston Baptist Huskies vs North Texas Mean Green Prediction, 12/17/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Houston Baptist Huskies vs North Texas Mean Green

Date: Thursday, December 17, 2020

Location: UNT Coliseum in Denton, TX

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Houston Baptist (+24)

UNT Coliseum is the venue where and the North Texas Mean Green (1-3) will take on the Houston Baptist Huskies (1-4) on Thursday. North Texas opens this game as 24-point favorites. The total has been set at 150.5.

Houston Baptist will enter this contest with a mark of 1-4 so far this season. They average 70.8 points per game (210th in the country) while going 43.6% from the floor. The Huskies are connecting on 39.8% on shots from beyond the arc (45 of 113) and 73.1% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Houston Baptist is grabbing 34.0 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 79 assists for the year, which has them ranked 96th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 18.6 times per game and as a basketball team they commit 17.2 fouls per contest. On the defensive end of the court, the Huskies are forcing their opponents into 13.0 turnovers every game and they draw 18.0 fouls. The Huskies defensively are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 46.7% (151 of 323) and they surrender 37.8 boards per contest as a unit. They are 275th in Division 1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 85 surrendered for the campaign. They are giving up 36.5% on shots from downtown and they rank 303rd in college basketball in PPG allowed (83.4).

The Houston Baptist Huskies faced off with the Rice Owls and went home with a loss by a final score of 90-79 in their last contest. Houston Baptist walked away from the contest having earned a 47.0% field goal percentage (31 of 66) and converted 11 out of their 28 3-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Huskies made 6 of their 9 attempts for a rate of 66.7%. In relation to pulling down rebounds, they compiled 31 with 3 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 19 assists for the contest in addition to earning 4 steals and 7 blocked shots. When discussing defense, Houston Baptist let their opponent shoot 47.0% from the floor on 31 out of 66. Rice recorded 16 assists and 9 steals for this contest. Moreover, the Owls grabbed 47 rebounds (17 offensive, 30 defensive) and added 7 blocks. Rice finished the game shooting 78.3% when shooting free throws by knocking down 18 of their 23 attempts. They also buried 12 out of their 34 shots from 3-point land.

Za-Ontay Boothman is one player who saw a lot of action in this game. He accumulated 15 points on 5 of 12 shooting. He played for 27 minutes played and grabbed 2 rebounds. Boothman finished 41.7% from the field and also distributed 4 assists. One more player that saw a lot of action in this contest for the Huskies was Myles Pierre. He collected 3 rebounds and accounted for 2 dimes. He ended up shooting 57.1% from the field in the matchup by connecting on 4-of-7 (9 points). When all was said and done, Pierre played for 20 min.

North Texas has a win-loss mark of 1-3 on the season. North Texas has earned 283 pts this year (70.8 per game) and they grab 36.3 boards per game. The Mean Green are responsible for committing 18.5 personal fouls every game and they hit 77.0% from the free throw line. When it comes to offensive execution, the Mean Green are hitting on 43.5% from the floor, which ranks them 229th in D-1. They are assisting teammates 14.0 times per contest (151st in college basketball) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 14.3 times per game. The Mean Green defensively are ranked 103rd in college basketball in points given up per game with 65.5. The North Texas defense gives up 27.3% on 3-point shots (21 of 77) and their opponents are converting on 68.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They surrender 9.0 assists and 37.5 rebounds per contest, which ranks 25th and 233rd in Division 1. They are able to force 15.8 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 40.8% from the floor (122nd in Division 1).

When they last stepped on the court, the North Texas Mean Green got the victory with a final of 81-56 against the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions. The Mean Green collected 22 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds totaling 28 in the game. They turned away 4 shots while getting 9 steals in the matchup. The Golden Lions were called for 18 personal fouls for this contest which took the Mean Green to the charity stripe for a total of 17 shots. They were able to bury 9 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 52.9%. Regarding shots from distance, North Texas converted 8 out of 16 tries (50.0%). In all, the Mean Green went 32 for 56 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 57.1%. The Mean Green permitted the Golden Lions to convert 22 of their 55 attempts from the field which left them shooting 40.0% in the game. They went 30.8% from 3-point land by hitting 4 of 13 and finished the game at 8 of 8 at the charity stripe (100.0%). Regarding attacking the glass, North Texas permitted Arkansas-Pine Bluff to snag 29 in all (7 on the offensive glass).

Javion Hamlet saw the court a lot for the Mean Green in this contest. He buried 6 of 12 in this game for a field goal rate of 50.0%, which gave him 14 points. Hamlet snagged 3 boards in his 29 mins played and had 3 dimes for the game. One more player who came through for North Texas was James Reese. He ended up walking away with 10 points in 29 minutes on the hardwood by going 4 of 6 shooting for the contest. Reese walked away from this one going 66.7% from the field and also collecting 2 assists and 3 boards.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Houston Baptist (+24)

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