Pittsburgh Panthers vs Miami Hurricanes Prediction, 12/16/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Panthers vs Miami Hurricanes

Date: Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Location: Watsco Center in Coral Gables, FL

TV: ACCN

Odds/Point Spread: Pittsburgh (+5)

The Pittsburgh Panthers (4-1) travel to Watsco Center on Wednesday where they'll take on the Miami Hurricanes (3-1). Pittsburgh opens this game as 5-point dogs. The over/under has been set at 140.

Pittsburgh enters this contest with a win-loss record of 4-1 this season. They are averaging 76.0 points per game (134th in the nation) while connecting on 43.5% from the field. The Panthers are hitting 30.1% from downtown (34 of 113) and 62.7% from the free throw line. As a unit, Pittsburgh is snagging 44.8 rebounds per game and has tallied 84 dimes so far this year, which ranks 74th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They are losing possession via turnover 14.6 times per contest and as a group they are committing 19.2 personal fouls on a nightly basis. On defense, the Panthers are able to force 15.2 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.8 fouls. They are ranked 229th in the country in allowing assists to their opponents with 73 surrendered on the campaign. The Panthers are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 39.1% (117 of 299) and they surrender 34.4 boards per contest as a squad. They give up 27.8% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 121st in college hoops in points per game allowed (66.6).

The Pittsburgh Panthers stepped onto the hardwood against the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs and went home with a win by a final score of 67-50 in their last contest. Pittsburgh wrapped up the game having earned a 35.9% FG percentage (23 out of 64) and made 1 of their 18 three-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Panthers converted 20 of 32 shots for a percentage of 62.5%. When discussing pulling down boards, they compiled 58 with 20 of them being offensive. They also distributed 13 assists for this contest while having 8 steals and 7 rejections. In relation to the defense, Pittsburgh allowed 35.9% from the floor on 23 out of 64. Gardner-Webb dished out 10 assists and 8 steals in the matchup. Moreover, the Bulldogs pulled down 36 rebounds (10 offensive, 26 defensive) and earned 7 blocked shots. Gardner-Webb finished the game shooting 53.8% at the free throw line by converting 7 of 13 tries. They converted 5 of 25 shots from downtown.

Justin Champagnie is one guy who was a contributor in this game. He scored 24 points on 10 of 20 shooting. He was on the court for 32 mins and also collected 21 boards. Champagnie shot 50.0% from the field and dished out 5 assists. One more player that saw a lot of action in the game for the Panthers was Au'Diese Toney. He grabbed 3 rebounds and also earned 2 assists. He ended up going 25.0% from the floor for this game by going 2-of-8 (9 points). In all, Toney was on the hardwood for 31 min.

Miami has a win-loss record of 3-1 so far this season. The Hurricanes are committing 13.0 personal fouls every game and they shoot 65.9% from the free throw line. Their rate of earning assists is at 14.0 times per contest (148th in college basketball) and they lose possession via turnover 13.5 times per contest. Miami has tallied 279 points for the year (69.8 per contest) and they pull in 43.0 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Hurricanes are hitting on 44.5% from the field, which is 194th in Division 1. The Hurricanes are ranked 33rd in D-1 in PPG allowed with 59.8. The Miami defense allows 31.7% on shots from 3-point land (40 of 126) and their opponents are making 64.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They surrender 14.3 dimes and 32.8 rebounds every game, which is ranked 233rd and 91st in those categories on the defensive end. They are forcing 14.8 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 35.5% from the floor (19th in college basketball).

When they last played, the Miami Hurricanes walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 66-62 when they faced the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles. The Hurricanes pulled down 25 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards totaling 36 for the game. They blocked 8 tries while getting 7 steals for the game. The Eagles earned 13 fouls in the game which took the Hurricanes to the charity stripe for a total of 13 attempts. They were able to knock down 9 of them for a clip of 69.2%. In reference to shooting from 3-point land, Miami knocked down 3 of 19 tries (15.8%). When the game finished, the Hurricanes went 25 out of 59 from the field which had them at 42.4%. The Hurricanes allowed the Eagles to convert 21 out of 56 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 37.5% for this contest. They shot 43.3% from beyond the perimeter by going 13 of 30 and finished the game at 11 of 16 at the free throw line (68.8%). When discussing team rebounding, Miami permitted Florida Gulf Coast to grab 24 in all (7 offensive).

Isaiah Wong ended up being a major contributor for the Hurricanes in this matchup. He made 9 out of 19 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 47.4%, which got him 20 points. Wong totaled 3 boards in his 40 mins and accumulated 2 assists for the matchup. One more player that ended being a contributor for Miami was Nysier Brooks. He totaled 13 points in 34 minutes on the court by way of 4 of 7 from the floor for the contest. Brooks walked away from this one going 57.1% from the floor as well as contributing 2 assists and 15 total rebounds.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (+5)

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