Tulane Green Wave vs East Carolina Pirates Prediction, 12/22/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Tulane Green Wave vs East Carolina Pirates

Date: Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Location: Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum in Greenville, NC

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Tulane (+5.5)

The East Carolina Pirates (6-1) host the Tulane Green Wave (5-1) at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum on Tuesday. The line on this matchup has East Carolina as 5.5-point favorites. The total has been set at 130.

Tulane will play this contest with a win-loss record of 5-1 this year. The Green Wave are connecting on 30.8% on three-point shots (48 of 156) and 77.2% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 68.3 pts per contest (253rd in the nation) while connecting on 40.2% from the floor. They are losing possession via turnover 12.2 times per game and as a team they are committing 17.7 fouls every game. As a unit, Tulane is snagging 35.0 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 80 assists this year, which has them ranked 169th in the nation in terms of passing. When they are on defense, the Green Wave are forcing their opponents into 16.2 turnovers per game and they draw 17.5 fouls. They are 177th in Division 1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 76 conceded for the year. The Green Wave are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 38.3% (120 of 313) and they surrender 36.2 boards per game as a unit. They surrender 32.5% on three-point shots and they rank 34th in college hoops in PPG allowed (60.3).

The Tulane Green Wave took the court against the Grambling Tigers and notched a win by a score of 77-65 in their last game. Tulane ended the contest having earned a 43.6% field goal percentage (24 out of 55) and knocked down 14 out of their 27 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the charity stripe, the Green Wave buried 15 of 19 tries for a rate of 78.9%. With regard to hauling in boards, they earned 27 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 20 assists in this contest in addition to earning 5 steals and 3 blocked shots. When it comes to defending, Tulane allowed the other team to go 43.6% from the field on 24 of 55. Grambling distributed 16 assists and 2 steals in this contest. Additionally, the Tigers pulled down 30 rebounds (6 offensive, 24 defensive) and added 3 rejections. Grambling shot 75.0% from the free throw line by converting 12 of their 16 attempts. They knocked down 9 of 18 attempts from beyond the perimeter.

Jaylen Forbes is someone who played a role in the game. He ended up walking away with 21 points on 8 of 12 shooting. He saw the court for 38 mins and pulled down 6 rebounds. Forbes ended up shooting 66.7% from the field and also recorded 3 dimes. An additional guy that saw a lot of minutes in this matchup for the Green Wave was Gabe Watson. He collected 2 boards and earned 5 assists. He finished the game at 42.9% from the field in this matchup via 6-of-14 (18 points). When the final whistle blew, Watson played for 35 minutes.

East Carolina has a win-loss mark of 6-1 so far this year. The Pirates commit 16.1 personal fouls every game and they shoot 75.0% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 17.7 times per game (36th in the country) and they turn it over 12.3 times per game. East Carolina has totaled 509 pts on the year (72.7 per contest) and they average 35.9 boards per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Pirates are hitting on 44.4% from the field, which is ranked 194th in Division 1. The Pirates on the defensive side of the court are 73rd in college basketball in points given up per game with 64.0. They are forcing 15.6 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 41.1% from the field (136th in college basketball). The East Carolina defense allows 28.1% on 3-pointers (45 of 160) and their opponents are connecting on 72.8% of their free throw attempts. They concede 11.4 assists and 34.6 boards per contest, which ranks them 95th and 151st in college hoops.

The last time they took the hardwood, the East Carolina Pirates took home the win by a final score of 73-64 against the James Madison Dukes. The Pirates were able to snag 21 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 28 in the game. They also stuffed 2 tries while recording 8 steals in this game. The Dukes had 19 fouls in this matchup which took the Pirates to the charity stripe for a total of 19 attempts. They were able to knock down 15 of those for a rate of 78.9%. In relation to 3-point attempts, East Carolina buried 6 of 18 tries (33.3%). Overall, the Pirates went 26 for 59 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.1%. The Pirates permitted the Dukes to knock down 21 out of their 53 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 39.6% in this game. They finished 25.0% from distance by going 7 out of 28 and ended up going 15 of 23 from the charity stripe (65.2%). In relation to cleaning up the glass, East Carolina allowed James Madison to get 34 in total (13 offensive).

Tristen Newton was pivotal for the Pirates for the matchup. He knocked down 5 out of 10 in this matchup for a field goal rate of 50.0%, which had him finishing with 14 points. Newton totaled 6 rebounds in his 36 mins and earned 5 assists for this contest. One more player who saw a lot of minutes for East Carolina was Jayden Gardner. He was able to score 13 points in his 36 minutes played via 5 out of 12 from the floor in the game. Gardner ended the game having shot 41.7% from the floor while contributing 2 assists and 5 total rebounds.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Tulane (+5.5)

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