Marshall Thundering Herd vs Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Prediction, 1/1/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Marshall Thundering Herd vs Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

Date: Friday, January 1, 2021

Location: Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, LA

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Marshall (+1)

The Marshall Thundering Herd (6-1) are headed to Thomas Assembly Center on Friday where they'll meet the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (7-2). Louisiana Tech opens this contest as 1-point favorites. The O/U has been set at 153.5.

Marshall heads into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 6-1 for the season. They currently have an average of 82.1 pts per game (48th in the country) while going 48.2% from the field. The Thundering Herd are shooting 34.4% on three-point shots (62 of 180) and 77.2% from the free throw line. As a team, Marshall is snagging 38.1 boards per contest and is sitting with 114 dimes this season, which ranks 119th in college basketball in terms of passing. They turn it over 15.0 times per game and as a unit they commit 17.3 personal fouls per contest. When they are on the defensive end, the Thundering Herd are forcing 16.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.0 personal fouls. The Thundering Herd are giving up a field goal percentage of 40.8% (178 of 436) and they surrender 36.3 rebounds per game as a unit. They are ranked 141st in the nation in allowing assists to the opposition with 85 conceded this year. They are giving up 37.0% on shots from downtown and they are ranked 178th in D-1 in points per game allowed (70.4).

The Marshall Thundering Herd faced the UNC Asheville Bulldogs and went home with a win by a final score of 88-67 in their last contest. Marshall ended the game with a 51.6% FG percentage (32 out of 62) and made 12 out of their 28 3-point shots. From the free throw line, the Thundering Herd made 12 of 16 tries for a percentage of 75.0%. With regard to grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 34 with 7 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 19 dimes for this game in addition to getting 6 steals and 9 blocks. Pertaining to defense, Marshall allowed the other team to shoot 51.6% from the floor on 32 of 62 shooting. UNC Asheville totaled 12 assists and had 5 steals for the contest. Additionally, the Bulldogs totaled 28 rebounds (9 offensive, 19 defensive) and had 9 blocked shots. UNC Asheville finished shooting 33.3% from the charity stripe by burying 4 of 12 shots. They also knocked down 9 of 26 tries from beyond the perimeter.

Taevion Kinsey is a guy who was a major contributor for the matchup. He ended up walking away with 26 points on 11 of 17 shooting. He saw the court for 36 minutes played and also collected 5 rebounds. Kinsey finished 64.7% from the field and also earned 6 assists. Someone else that had an impact in the game for the Thundering Herd was Mikel Beyers. He collected 2 boards and had 2 dimes. He finished 53.8% from the field in the matchup by shooting 7-of-13 (20 points). Overall, Beyers was on the hardwood for 28 minutes.

Louisiana Tech has a mark of 7-2 for the year. Louisiana Tech has earned 673 pts for the campaign (74.8 per contest) and they collect 39.1 boards per game. The Bulldogs are responsible for committing 16.1 personal fouls per contest and they connect on 66.3% from the free throw line. On the offensive side of the ball, the Bulldogs are hitting on 43.6% from the floor, which ranks them 220th in the country. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 12.1 times per game (255th in Division 1) and they cough up possession 13.1 times per game. The Bulldogs defensively are ranked 105th in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 66.4. They give up 10.1 dimes and 37.3 rebounds every game, which ranks them 35th and 250th in Division 1. The Louisiana Tech defense gives up 32.1% on 3-point attempts (59 of 184) and their opposition knocks down 66.4% of their free throw attempts. They are forcing 14.8 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 41.0% from the field (114th in the nation).

In their last game, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs got the win with a final of 68-57 against the UL Monroe Warhawks. The Bulldogs collected 32 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 39 in this game. They blocked 2 tries while recording 7 steals in this matchup. The Warhawks had 22 personal fouls in this contest which took the Bulldogs to the free throw line for 21 tries. They were able to knock down 14 of those for a percentage of 66.7%. Pertaining to shooting from 3-point land, Louisiana Tech knocked down 8 out of 26 tries (30.8%). In all, the Bulldogs finished 23 out of 52 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 44.2%. The Bulldogs permitted the Warhawks to knock down 24 of 63 tries from the field which had them shooting 38.1% for the game. They finished the game shooting 26.3% from 3-point land by connecting on 5 of 19 and ended up going 4 out of 10 from the free throw line (40.0%). In the matter of how they rebounded, Louisiana Tech allowed UL Monroe to snag 34 overall (9 offensive).

Kalob Ledoux ended up having an impact for the Bulldogs in this matchup. He made 4 of 12 for the contest for a field goal percentage of 33.3%, which had him finishing with 13 points. Ledoux grabbed 4 boards in his 33 mins and totaled 2 dimes in this game. An additional guy that was pivotal for Louisiana Tech was Cobe Williams. He accumulated 13 points in his 32 minutes played via 5 out of 9 from the floor in this game. Williams finished going 55.6% from the floor in addition to collecting 2 assists and 4 rebounds.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Marshall (+1)

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