Abilene Christian Wildcats vs Texas Longhorns Prediction, 3/20/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Abilene Christian Wildcats vs Texas Longhorns

Date: Saturday, March 20, 2021

Location: Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN

TV: TRUTV

Odds/Point Spread: Abilene Christian (+9)

Lucas Oil Stadium is the site where and the Texas Longhorns (19-7) will play the Abilene Christian Wildcats (23-4) on Saturday in the NCAA Tournament. The spread on this game has Texas as 9-point favorites. The O/U is set at 139.5.

Abilene Christian will take the court with a win-loss record of 23-4 on the campaign. They are giving up possession 13.9 times per contest and as a basketball team they commit 19.4 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Abilene Christian is snagging 36.3 boards per game and has totaled 491 assists for the campaign, which ranks 3rd in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. The Wildcats are hitting 35.3% on shots from downtown (214 of 606) and 67.3% from the free throw line. They are averaging 77.6 points per game (44th in the country) while hitting 46.0% from the field. On the defensive end of the court, the Wildcats have forced 20.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.3 fouls. The Wildcats defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 40.0% (556 of 1,390) and they relinquish 33.8 rebounds per game as a squad. They are 114th in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 269 surrendered for the campaign. They are surrendering 30.6% on three-point shots and they are ranked 7th in college basketball in PPG allowed (60.5).

The Abilene Christian Wildcats played the Nicholls State Colonels and walked away with a win by a score of 79-45 in their last contest. Abilene Christian ended the game having earned a 45.3% field goal percentage (29 of 64) and buried 11 out of their 22 3-pointers. At the free throw line, the Wildcats knocked down 10 of 11 shots for a percentage of 90.9%. With respect to pulling down boards, they collected a total of 51 with 13 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 19 assists in the matchup as well as forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and getting 12 steals. In the matter of the defense, Abilene Christian allowed the other team to go 29.7% from the field on 19 out of 64 shooting. Nicholls State recorded 8 dimes and had 10 steals in this contest. In addition, Nicholls State collected 32 boards (12 offensive, 20 defensive) and got 6 rejections. Nicholls State shot 27.3% at the free throw line by burying 3 of their 11 shots. They also made 4 of their 27 attempts from beyond the perimeter.

Damien Daniels is one guy who was a factor in this matchup. He left the arena with 13 points on 6 of 7 shooting. He saw the court for 29 mins and totaled 3 rebounds. Daniels walked away from this one shooting 85.7% from the floor and dished out 3 assists. One more player that was a major factor in this contest for the Wildcats was Joe Pleasant. He collected 8 rebounds in 28 min played on the night. He finished the game shooting 62.5% from the floor in this game by shooting 5-of-8 (13 points). At the conclusion of this game, Pleasant totaled 3 assists.

Texas has a record of 19-7 on the campaign. As an offense, the Longhorns are hitting on 45.4% from the floor, which ranks them 107th in college basketball. Texas has scored 1,956 points for the season (75.2 per contest) and they snag 38.7 rebounds per contest. They are assisting teammates 13.1 times per contest (179th in college hoops) and they are turning it over 14.2 times per contest. The Longhorns have committed 19.8 fouls per game while shooting 70.8% from the free throw line. The Longhorns defensively are ranked 131st in college basketball in points allowed per contest with 68.8. The Texas defense allows 32.3% on three-point shots (163 of 505) and opponents are converting on 68.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They allow 9.9 dimes and 34.3 boards per game, which is ranked 16th and 146th in those categories on the defensive end. They have forced 12.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 41.3% from the field (66th in college basketball).

In their last game, the Texas Longhorns got the win with a final of 91-86 when they faced the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Longhorns corralled 24 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards totaling 34 for the game. They also turned the ball over 15 times, while recording 8 steals for the matchup. The Cowboys committed 22 fouls in this matchup which took the Longhorns to the charity stripe for 36 attempts. They were able to knock down 28 of the free throws for a rate of 77.8%. With respect to 3-point attempts, Texas knocked down 7 of their 18 attempts (38.9%). Overall, the Longhorns finished shooting 28 out of 57 from the field which gave them a percentage of 49.1%. The Longhorns permitted the Cowboys to make 33 of their 65 attempts from the field which had them shooting 50.8% for the contest. They went 33.3% from 3-point land by shooting 7 out of 21 and ended up going 13 out of 17 from the charity stripe (76.5%). In relation to rebounds, Texas permitted Oklahoma State to get 29 in total (9 offensive).

Matt Coleman was important for the Longhorns for the contest. He converted 10 of 14 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 71.4%, and earned 1 rebound. Coleman had 30 points in his 37 minutes on the hardwood and accumulated 1 assist for this game. An additional guy that played a role for Texas was Jericho Sims. He ended up with 2 dimes in 35 mins played, and he knocked down 8 out of 11 from the floor. Sims ended the game having shot 72.7% from the floor while earning 21 points and 14 boards.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Abilene Christian (+9)

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