Nevada Wolf Pack vs New Mexico Lobos Prediction, 12/31/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Nevada Wolf Pack vs New Mexico Lobos

Date: Thursday, December 31, 2020

Location: Dreamstyle Arena in Albuquerque, NM

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Nevada (-3.5)

The Nevada Wolf Pack (6-3) go to Dreamstyle Arena on Thursday where they'll take on the New Mexico Lobos (3-2). The line on this matchup has Nevada as 3.5-point favorites. The over/under is set at 147.

Nevada heads into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 6-3 on the season. The Wolf Pack are shooting 33.5% on shots from downtown (65 of 194) and 70.9% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 71.4 points per outing (210th in the country) while shooting 44.4% from the field. They are losing possession via turnover 14.2 times per game and as a basketball team they commit 18.1 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Nevada is pulling down 38.6 boards per game and is sitting with 130 dimes on the campaign, which ranks 60th in college basketball in terms of passing. Defensively, the Wolf Pack are able to force 12.6 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.9 fouls. They currently rank 286th in Division 1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 121 surrendered for the campaign. The Wolf Pack defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 39.3% (205 of 521) and they surrender 33.9 boards per game as a team. They are surrendering 31.7% from beyond the arc while they are 121st in Division 1 in opponents points per game (67.2).

The Nevada Wolf Pack played the Air Force Falcons and took a loss by a score of 68-66 in their last game. Nevada walked away from the game with a 42.6% field goal percentage (23 of 54) and buried 2 out of their 24 shots from downtown. At the free throw line, the Wolf Pack converted 18 of 26 shots for a percentage of 69.2%. Regarding hauling in boards, they collected 31 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 14 assists in this matchup as well as earning 6 steals and 2 rejections. When talking about defense, Nevada allowed the other team to shoot 42.6% from the floor on 23 out of 54 shooting. Air Force earned 16 dimes and had 9 steals for the contest. Additionally, the Falcons grabbed 23 boards (4 offensive, 19 defensive) and added 2 rejections. Air Force finished the contest at 88.9% from the free throw line by burying 16 of their 18 attempts. They buried 6 of their 19 tries from 3-point range.

Zane Meeks is someone who was important for this contest. He totaled 18 points on 5 of 11 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 34 mins and also pulled down 8 rebounds. Meeks finished the contest at 45.5% from the field and also dished out 2 assists. One more player that was a major factor in this contest for the Wolf Pack was Grant Sherfield. He collected 2 rebounds and had 4 dimes. He ended up going 33.3% from the field for this game by shooting 4-of-12 (10 points). When the final whistle blew, Sherfield was on the court for 29 min.

New Mexico has a mark of 3-2 so far this year. When it comes to offense, the Lobos are shooting 44.2% from the field, which is 202nd in the country. New Mexico has scored 371 points on the season (74.2 per game) and they average 46.2 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 12.0 times per contest (263rd in the country) and they turn the ball over 15.0 times per contest. The Lobos are responsible for committing 13.8 personal fouls every game and they connect on 61.0% from the charity stripe. The Lobos on defense are ranked 170th in D-1 in points given up per game with 70.0. The New Mexico defense concedes 34.7% on shots from 3-point land (50 of 144) and their opponents are making 65.6% of their free throw attempts. They have surrendered 15.2 dimes and 30.8 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 272nd and 44th in college hoops. They are forcing their opponents into 13.2 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 42.1% from the field (169th in D-1).

The last time they took the hardwood, the New Mexico Lobos went home defeated by a final of 89-52 against the Boise State Broncos. The Lobos corralled 16 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 23 in this contest. They blocked 2 attempts while recording 4 steals for the game. The Broncos earned 20 fouls for this game which got the Lobos to the charity stripe for a total of 21 attempts. They were able to bury 15 of the free throws for a percentage of 71.4%. With regard to shooting from distance, New Mexico made 1 out of 9 attempts (11.1%). When this game wrapped up, the Lobos shot 18 for 54 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 33.3%. The Lobos allowed the Broncos to convert 36 of 60 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 60.0% in this matchup. They shot 50.0% from three-point range by shooting 11 of 22 and finished the contest at 6 of 9 at the charity stripe (66.7%). When it comes to how they attacked the glass, New Mexico permitted Boise State to snag 34 in total (6 offensive).

Makuach Maluach ended up having an impact for the Lobos in the game. He buried 2 out of 10 in the matchup giving him a rate of 20.0%, which had him sitting at 8 points. Maluach totaled 4 boards in his 25 minutes played and accounted for 2 dimes in this contest. Another guy that ended up playing a role for New Mexico was Rod Brown. He was able to score 8 points in 21 minutes on the court via 4 out of 7 from the floor in this contest. Brown ended the game having shot 57.1% from the floor as well as collecting 2 assists and 3 total rebounds.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Nevada (-3.5)

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