Butler Bulldogs vs Xavier Musketeers Prediction, 3/10/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Butler Bulldogs vs Xavier Musketeers

Date: Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Location: Madison Square Garden in New York, NY

TV: FS1

Odds/Point Spread: Butler (+5.5)

The Butler Bulldogs (9-14) head to Madison Square Garden on Wednesday where they'll meet the Xavier Musketeers (13-7). Xavier opens this contest as 5.5-point favorites. The over/under is set at 132.5.

Butler will enter this game with a win-loss record of 9-14 on the campaign. The Bulldogs are hitting 32.2% on shots beyond the perimeter (163 of 506) and 64.0% from the free throw line. They are averaging 63.6 points per outing (327th in college basketball) while going 41.2% from the floor. They turn it over 11.5 times per game and as a team are committing 16.7 fouls per contest. As a unit, Butler is pulling in 32.5 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 284 dimes this season, which ranks 211th in the nation in terms of passing. When they are on defense, the Bulldogs are forcing 12.4 turnovers every game while drawing 17.0 fouls. They give up 33.7% on 3-point attempts and they are 108th in college basketball in points per game allowed (67.9). The Bulldogs defensively are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 45.7% (570 of 1,246) and they surrender 33.9 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They are ranked 221st in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 309 relinquished for the season.

The Butler Bulldogs took the court against the Creighton Bluejays and took a loss by a final of 93-73 in their last contest. Butler finished the game having earned a 44.1% FG percentage (26 out of 59) and converted 5 out of their 26 three-point shots. When they shot from the free throw line, the Bulldogs converted 16 of 22 shots for a rate of 72.7%. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 26 with 3 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 9 assists for this contest while forcing the opposition into 8 turnovers and getting 3 steals. When it comes to the defense, Butler allowed 52.4% from the field on 33 out of 63 shooting. Creighton recorded 20 assists and had 5 steals in this game. On top of that, Creighton had 38 rebounds (8 offensive, 30 defensive) and had 1 block. Creighton finished the game shooting 65.2% from the free throw line by knocking down 15 of their 23 tries. They also converted 12 of their 25 attempts from 3-point land.

Chuck Harris is one player who came through in this matchup. He notched 29 points on 10 of 18 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 36 minutes played and also collected 6 rebounds. Harris finished shooting 55.6% from the floor and totaled 4 assists. One more player that had an impact in this contest for the Bulldogs was Bryce Golden. He pulled down 2 rebounds in his 27 min on the hardwood. He ended up shooting 72.7% from the floor in the matchup by hitting 8-of-11 (19 points). At the conclusion of this game, Golden wasn't able to get an assist.

Xavier has a mark of 13-7 this season. Xavier has scored 1,502 pts for the year (75.1 per game) and they pull in 37.8 boards per contest. The Musketeers commit 15.6 fouls every game and they go 69.4% from the free throw line. As an offense, the Musketeers are hitting on 45.8% from the field, which ranks 96th in Division 1. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 17.8 times per contest (8th in the nation) and they are turning it over 11.3 times per contest. The Musketeers on defense are ranked 179th in Division 1 in points given up per game with 70.2. The Xavier defense concedes 33.5% on shots from behind the 3-point line (156 of 466) and opponents are connecting on 73.4% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 14.8 assists and 36.9 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks them 291st and 264th in those categories. They have forced 11.7 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 41.2% from the floor (65th in college basketball).

When they last stepped on the court, the Xavier Musketeers went home defeated by a final of 66-59 against the Marquette Golden Eagles. The Musketeers collected 21 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards totaling 27 for the game. They also coughed up the ball 8 times, while getting 8 steals in the game. The Golden Eagles were called for 16 fouls for this game which took the Musketeers to the charity stripe for 12 attempts. They were able to bury 9 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 75.0%. With respect to shooting from beyond the arc, Xavier knocked down 4 out of their 24 tries (16.7%). When the final whistle was blown, the Musketeers finished shooting 23 out of 57 from the floor which had them at 40.4%. The Musketeers allowed the Golden Eagles to convert 25 of 49 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 51.0% in the game. They went 28.6% from distance by shooting 4 of 14 and finished the contest at 12 out of 15 from the free throw line (80.0%). When talking about cleaning up the glass, Xavier allowed Marquette to pull down 29 in total (4 on the offensive glass).

Paul Scruggs was important for the Musketeers in the game. He converted 7 out of 14 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and totaled 6 rebounds. Scruggs had 18 points in his 38 mins on the hardwood and totaled 3 dimes in the game. Another guy that was pivotal for Xavier was C.J. Wilcher. He accumulated 1 assist in 32 mins on the hardwood, and he knocked down 4 out of 9 from the floor. Wilcher wrapped this one up going 44.4% from the floor and also collecting 10 points and 1 rebound.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Xavier (-5.5)

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