North Dakota Fighting Hawks vs Southern Illinois Salukis Prediction, 12/17/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: North Dakota Fighting Hawks vs Southern Illinois Salukis

Date: Thursday, December 17, 2020

Location: Banterra Center in Carbondale, IL

TV: ESPN3

Odds/Point Spread: North Dakota (+9.5)

The Southern Illinois Salukis (3-0) host the North Dakota Fighting Hawks (1-5) at Banterra Center on Thursday. The odds on this matchup have Southern Illinois as 9.5-point favorites. The total opens at 135.5.

North Dakota comes into this matchup with a mark of 1-5 on the year. They are averaging 66.0 pts per contest (260th in the country) on 42.7% from the field. The Fighting Hawks are shooting 30.1% on shots from distance (40 of 133) and 65.4% from the charity stripe. As a team, North Dakota is grabbing 34.0 boards per game and has earned 64 dimes so far this year, which has them ranked 158th in D-1 in terms of passing. They lose possession by turning the ball over 14.0 times per game and as a group they commit 18.3 fouls per game. When they are on defense, the Fighting Hawks have forced 11.8 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.5 personal fouls. They surrender 30.6% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 196th in college basketball in points per game allowed (71.5). The Fighting Hawks are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 46.7% (161 of 345) and they surrender 34.5 rebounds per contest as a squad. They rank 245th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 78 conceded for the season.

The North Dakota Fighting Hawks stepped onto the hardwood against the North Dakota State Bison and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 53-52 in their last game. North Dakota ended having earned a 44.0% field goal percentage (22 of 50) and knocked down 6 out of their 21 shots from beyond the arc. From the charity stripe, the Fighting Hawks knocked down 2 of 9 shots for a percentage of 22.2%. In regard to grabbing rebounds, they earned 31 with 7 of them being offensive. They also doled out 14 assists for the contest while having 4 steals and 4 blocks. Regarding defending, North Dakota let their opponent shoot 44.0% from the field on 22 out of 50. North Dakota State recorded 7 assists and 3 steals in this contest. Moreover, the Bison snagged 27 boards (5 offensive, 22 defensive) and had 4 blocks. North Dakota State finished 55.6% from the free throw line by making 5 of their 9 shots. They converted 4 of 13 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Seybian Sims is one player who was a contributor for the game. He notched 5 points on 2 out of 6 shooting. He played for 35 minutes played and also grabbed 13 boards. Sims finished the contest at 33.3% from the floor and earned 3 assists. Another guy that played a role in the matchup for the Fighting Hawks was Filip Rebraca. He pulled down 7 rebounds and had 2 dimes. He finished shooting 56.3% from the floor for the contest by shooting 9-of-16 (21 points). When the final whistle blew, Rebraca was on the hardwood for 31 min.

Southern Illinois has a win-loss mark of 3-0 on the campaign. Southern Illinois has accounted for 259 pts for the campaign (86.3 per game) and they average 36.3 boards per contest. The Salukis have committed 14.3 fouls every game and they go 79.2% from the charity stripe. On the offensive side of the ball, the Salukis are shooting 49.1% from the field, which is ranked 82nd in the nation. They are dishing out assists 16.7 times per game (62nd in Division 1) and they turn it over 11.0 times per contest. The Salukis on defense are ranked 159th in college hoops in PPG given up with 68.7. The Southern Illinois defense gives up 30.4% on shots from 3-point land (21 of 69) and opponents are making 64.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have relinquished 16.7 assists and 38.7 boards every game, which is 290th and 263rd in the nation. They are forcing their opponents into 15.0 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 40.8% from the floor (123rd in college hoops).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Southern Illinois Salukis got the win with a final of 70-66 when they played the Murray State Racers. The Salukis were able to corral 24 defensive rebounds and 1 offensive rebounds totaling 25 for this contest. They blocked 2 attempts while earning 5 steals for this game. The Racers had 21 personal fouls in the game which got the Salukis to the charity stripe for a total of 26 shots. They were able to knock down 21 of the free throw tries for a rate of 80.8%. When it comes to shooting from downtown, Southern Illinois knocked down 9 of 19 attempts (47.4%). When the final whistle was blown, the Salukis shot 20 for 43 from the floor which had them shooting 46.5%. The Salukis permitted the Racers to make 26 of their 61 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 42.6% in the game. They shot 34.8% from 3-point land by connecting on 8 out of 23 and ended up going 6 of 7 from the free throw line (85.7%). When discussing team rebounding, Southern Illinois permitted Murray State to collect 35 in all (10 offensive).

Marcus Domask ended up seeing a lot of time on the hardwood for the Salukis for the matchup. He made 4 out of 13 in the matchup for a rate of 30.8%, which gave him 13 points. Domask snagged 5 rebounds in his 37 mins and had 3 dimes for this game. Someone else who came through for Southern Illinois was Ben Harvey. He ended up walking away with 12 points in 26 minutes on the hardwood by way of 3 out of 6 from the floor in the matchup. Harvey wrapped this one up going 50.0% from the floor and also earning 2 dimes and 6 boards.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take North Dakota (+9.5)

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