Bucknell Bison vs North Carolina State Wolfpack Prediction, 11/9/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Bucknell Bison vs NC State Wolfpack

Date: Tuesday, November 9, 2021

Location: PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC

TV: ESPN+

PNC Arena is the site where the NC State Wolfpack (14-11 last season) will go up against the Bucknell Bison (5-7 last year) on Tuesday.

The Bucknell Bison faced off with the Colgate Raiders and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 105-75 in their last contest. Bucknell finished the contest with a 44.6% FG percentage (29 out of 65) and knocked down 8 of their 28 3-point shots. At the free throw line, the Bison made 9 of 14 attempts for a rate of 64.3%. In terms of grabbing rebounds, they earned 25 with 7 of them being offensive. They also dished out 12 assists in this matchup while forcing 9 turnovers and having 6 steals. In the matter of defending, Bucknell allowed the other team to go 52.6% from the field on 41 out of 78 shooting. Colgate distributed 25 dimes and had 7 steals for the game. In addition, Colgate collected 48 rebounds (17 offensive, 31 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Colgate ended up going 80.0% at the free throw line by converting 12 of 15 shots. They made 11 of their 19 attempts from long range. When talking about fouls, the Bison walked away with 14 and the Raiders recorded 11 fouls.

John Meeks is a guy who was a factor in this game. He accumulated 23 points on 10 out of 20 shooting. He was on the court for 35 minutes played and grabbed 5 rebounds. He ended up going 50.0% from the floor and also earned 3 dimes.

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Bucknell comes into this one after finishing with a record of 5-7 last season. They averaged 74.9 points per game (81st in Division 1) on 45.5% from the field. The Bison connected on 33.0% on shots from beyond the arc (88 of 267) and 76.2% from the charity stripe. As a group, Bucknell pulled down 33.5 boards per game and earned 144 dimes last season, which had them ranked 343rd in the country in terms of passing the ball. They turned it over 12.7 times per game and as a unit committed 17.4 fouls per contest.

When they were on defense, the Bison forced 11.5 turnovers per game and they drew 17.5 fouls. They were 12th in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 184 surrendered over the course of last year. The Bison gave up a FG percentage of 43.8% (334 of 763) and they surrendered 36.9 boards per contest as a group. They surrendered 36.0% on three-point shots while they were 313th in college basketball in points per game allowed (77.3).

For their last game, the NC State Wolfpack took a loss by a final score of 65-61 when they faced the Colorado State Rams. The Wolfpack collected 24 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards for a total of 33 in the game. They coughed it up 17 times, while earning 3 steals in this contest. The Rams were called for 14 fouls for the game which got the Wolfpack to the charity stripe for 9 tries. They were able to bury 6 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 66.7%. With respect to shooting from 3-point land, North Carolina State converted 5 of 22 tries (22.7%). When the final whistle blew, the Wolfpack ended up shooting 25 out of 57 from the floor which had them shooting 43.9%. The Wolfpack permitted the Rams to bury 26 of 59 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.1% for the game. They shot 13.0% from beyond the perimeter by going 3 of 23 and ended up shooting 10 out of 11 at the free throw line (90.9%). In reference to rebounding, North Carolina State allowed Colorado State to grab 29 in all (5 offensive).

DJ Funderburk ended up being a major contributor for the Wolfpack for the contest. He converted 6 of 7 in this matchup for a field goal rate of 85.7%, and added 9 rebounds. He earned 13 points in his 33 mins of playing time and tallied 1 assist for the contest.

North Carolina State had a mark of 14-11 last year. The Wolfpack committed 16.0 fouls per contest and they hit 70.2% from the free throw line. They dished out assists 13.0 times per game (191st in college hoops) and they lost possession via turnover 12.8 times per game. North Carolina State earned 1,820 pts last season (72.8 per game) and they grabbed 32.5 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offense, the Wolfpack hit 47.1% from the field, which was ranked 54th in the nation.

The Wolfpack on the defensive end were ranked 162nd in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 69.7. They were able to force 14.8 TO's per game and allowed teams to shoot 45.2% from the floor (257th in Division 1). The North Carolina State defense allowed 34.2% on shots from 3-point land (170 of 497) and opponents made 72.5% of their foul shots. They relinquished 13.0 assists and 33.6 boards on a nightly basis, which was ranked 186th and 113th in those categories.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Bucknell

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