Southern Illinois Salukis vs Butler Bulldogs Prediction, 12/21/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Southern Illinois Salukis vs Butler Bulldogs

Date: Monday, December 21, 2020

Location: Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

TV: FS1

Odds/Point Spread: Southern Illinois (+8.5)

The Southern Illinois Salukis (5-0) go to Hinkle Fieldhouse on Monday where they'll take on the Butler Bulldogs (1-2). Southern Illinois opens this contest as 8.5-point underdogs. The O/U has been set at 135.5.

Southern Illinois steps onto the court with a record of 5-0 this season. They are turning it over 12.0 times per game and as a basketball team they commit 14.4 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Southern Illinois is pulling in 36.0 rebounds per contest and has racked up 85 dimes this year, which ranks 147th in the nation in terms of passing. The Salukis are connecting on 43.6% on three-point shots (44 of 101) and 78.5% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 81.2 points per contest (68th in D-1) on 49.6% from the floor. Defensively, the Salukis have forced 15.0 turnovers every game and they draw 18.2 fouls. The Salukis defensively are allowing a field goal percentage of 40.3% (122 of 303) and they surrender 34.6 boards per contest as a unit. They are currently ranked 217th in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 83 conceded for the year. They surrender 31.1% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 77th in the country in points per game allowed (64.0).

The Southern Illinois Salukis played the North Dakota Fighting Hawks and earned the victory with a final of 62-50 in their last game. Southern Illinois finished the contest having earned a 44.2% FG percentage (23 of 52) and made 6 out of their 22 three-point attempts. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Salukis knocked down 10 of their 11 attempts for a percentage of 90.9%. Pertaining to rebounding, they compiled 37 with 5 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 16 assists in this contest while earning 7 steals and 5 blocked shots. In the matter of defense, Southern Illinois allowed the other team to shoot 44.2% from the floor on 23 out of 52. North Dakota totaled 14 assists and 9 steals in the game. Moreover, the Fighting Hawks grabbed 30 boards (6 offensive, 24 defensive) and added 5 rejections. North Dakota finished shooting 40.0% at the free throw line by knocking down 6 of their 15 shots. They also knocked down 6 of 22 attempts from distance.

Marcus Domask is a player who was important in this contest. He left the arena with 17 points on 7 of 12 shooting. He saw the court for 33 minutes and totaled 2 rebounds. Domask finished the game shooting 58.3% from the field and totaled 5 assists. Someone else that saw a lot of minutes in the game for the Salukis was Ben Harvey. He collected 9 boards and also tallied 2 assists. He finished 66.7% from the floor for this game by shooting 4-of-6 (12 points). When the game finished, Harvey was on the court for 29 min.

Butler has a mark of 1-2 so far this year. Butler has tallied 192 pts on the season (64.0 per contest) and they collect 31.7 boards per game. The Bulldogs commit 19.0 fouls every game and they connect on 59.7% from the free throw line. When it comes to offensive execution, the Bulldogs are connecting on 42.4% from the floor, which is 260th in the nation. They are dishing out assists 9.7 times per contest (315th in the nation) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 11.7 times per contest. The Bulldogs are ranked 213th in college basketball in points allowed per game with 71.7. They have conceded 16.7 dimes and 32.3 total boards per game, which is 304th and 79th in D-1. The Butler defense surrenders 45.6% on 3-pointers (26 of 57) and their opposition knocks down 67.3% of their foul shots. They are forcing 11.3 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 49.7% from the field (320th in college hoops).

When they last stepped on the court, the Butler Bulldogs took a defeat with a final score of 68-60 against the Indiana Hoosiers. The Bulldogs collected 24 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards totaling 33 for the contest. They blocked 5 attempts while earning 2 steals for this game. The Hoosiers were called for 17 fouls in the matchup which took the Bulldogs to the charity stripe for a total of 14 attempts. They were able to make 7 of those for a rate of 50.0%. In regard to shots from distance, Butler knocked down 9 of 19 attempts (47.4%). Overall, the Bulldogs finished 22 out of 56 from the field which gave them a percentage of 39.3%. The Bulldogs permitted the Hoosiers to make 25 of 47 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 53.2% in this matchup. They finished 43.8% from 3-point land by going 7 out of 16 and ended up going 11 of 20 at the free throw line (55.0%). Concerning rebounding, Butler allowed Indiana to pull down 28 in total (3 offensive).

Myles Tate ended up having an impact for the Bulldogs for the game. He made 3 out of 6 for the matchup for a field goal rate of 50.0%, which had him finishing with 10 points. Tate totaled 3 rebounds in his 37 mins played and accumulated 2 assists for this game. Another guy who saw a lot of court time for Butler was Jair Bolden. He left the arena with 20 points in 36 minutes on the court by going 6 out of 12 shooting in the game. Bolden ended up shooting 50.0% from the floor while contributing 2 assists and 4 total rebounds.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Butler (-8.5) and under 135.5 points

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