Montana State Bobcats vs Portland Pilots Prediction, 12/22/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Montana State Bobcats vs Portland Pilots

Date: Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Location: Chiles Center in Portland, OR

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Montana State (-1.5)

The Montana State Bobcats (2-2) travel to Chiles Center on Tuesday where they'll take on the Portland Pilots (5-2). The spread on this game has Montana State as 1.5-point favorites. The over/under has been set at 146.5.

Montana State enters this matchup with a record of 2-2 so far this year. They currently have an average of 82.3 pts per game (54th in college hoops) while connecting on 45.3% from the field. The Bobcats are shooting 39.6% on shots beyond the perimeter (36 of 91) and 77.5% from the free throw line. As a unit, Montana State is collecting 35.3 rebounds per game and has totaled 59 assists this season, which is 247th in college basketball in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 13.0 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 20.5 personal fouls on a nightly basis. When they are on the defensive end, the Bobcats have forced 13.8 turnovers per contest and they draw 22.0 personal fouls. They surrender 38.5% on 3-pointers and they are ranked 278th in Division 1 in PPG allowed (77.0). The Bobcats defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 40.9% (99 of 242) and they concede 35.3 rebounds per game as a team. They are ranked 49th in Division 1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 46 surrendered this year.

The Montana State Bobcats took the court against the Washington State Cougars and took a loss by a score of 82-54 in their last contest. Montana State finished having earned a 26.8% FG percentage (15 out of 56) and made 6 of their 23 shots from downtown. From the charity stripe, the Bobcats converted 18 of their 26 shots for a rate of 69.2%. In the matter of grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 23 with 5 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 11 dimes for this contest while having 2 steals and 3 blocks. When discussing defending, Montana State allowed the other team to shoot 26.8% from the floor on 15 out of 56. Washington State doled out 10 dimes and 5 steals for the contest. Additionally, the Cougars collected 46 boards (9 offensive, 37 defensive) and added 3 blocks. Washington State ended up shooting 79.2% at the charity stripe by converting 19 of their 24 attempts. They also knocked down 7 of 20 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Amin Adamu is one guy who was pivotal in this game. He left the arena with 12 points on 3 out of 8 shooting. He played for 21 minutes played and also collected 3 rebounds. Adamu ended up shooting 37.5% from the field and also recorded 2 dimes. One more player that saw a lot of time on the hardwood in this contest for the Bobcats was Jubrile Belo. He grabbed 6 rebounds and tallied 5 dimes. He ended up going 16.7% from the floor for the matchup by going 1-of-6 (8 points). Overall, Belo was on the hardwood for 23 min.

Portland has a record of 5-2 this season. On the offensive side of the court, the Pilots are shooting 43.9% from the floor, which is 216th in D-1. Portland has earned 531 pts so far this year (75.9 per contest) and they collect 33.3 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 11.7 times per contest (269th in college basketball) and they turn it over 15.0 times per contest. The Pilots are committing 16.1 personal fouls per contest and they go 75.1% from the charity stripe. The Pilots are ranked 274th in college basketball in points given up per game with 77.0. They have forced 16.9 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 44.6% from the field (236th in college basketball). The Portland defense allows 34.7% on shots from behind the 3-point line (67 of 193) and their opposition makes 72.9% of their foul shots. They have relinquished 17.6 dimes and 38.0 boards every game, which is 317th and 252nd in college hoops.

For their last game, the Portland Pilots took a loss by a score of 80-41 against the Oregon Ducks. The Pilots earned 14 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards for a total of 22 in this contest. They also blocked 2 shots while getting 9 steals in the game. The Ducks committed 16 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Pilots to the charity stripe for a total of 16 shots. They were able to knock down 14 of the free throw tries for a rate of 87.5%. Regarding shooting from distance, Portland made 3 out of 19 tries (15.8%). When the final whistle blew, the Pilots walked away from this one shooting 12 out of 56 from the floor which gave them a rate of 21.4%. The Pilots permitted the Ducks to convert 32 out of their 56 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 57.1% in this game. They went 38.1% from three-point range by shooting 8 of 21 and ended up going 8 out of 11 at the free throw line (72.7%). In reference to how they cleaned up the glass, Portland permitted Oregon to collect 39 in total (8 on the offensive glass).

Ahmed Ali ended up seeing a lot of time on the hardwood for the Pilots for the game. He scored only 6 points. Ali pulled down 2 rebounds in his 25 mins played and earned 2 dimes for the contest. Someone else that ended up playing a role for Portland was Chase Adams. He was able to score 9 points in his 21 minutes on the court by going 3 of 8 shooting for the matchup. Adams wrapped this one up going 37.5% from the field while also collecting 2 dimes and 3 total rebounds.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Montana State (-1.5)

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