Central Connecticut Blue Devils vs Bryant Bulldogs Prediction, 1/7/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Central Connecticut Blue Devils vs Bryant Bulldogs

Date: Thursday, January 7, 2021

Location: Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, RI

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Central Connecticut (+12.5)

Chace Athletic Center is the venue where and the Bryant Bulldogs (7-2) will take on the Central Connecticut Blue Devils (2-5) on Thursday. The spread on this contest has Bryant as 12.5-point favorites. The O/U opens at 165.

Central Connecticut enters this one with a win-loss mark of 2-5 this season. They have an average of 75.1 points per game (135th in college basketball) while shooting 46.8% from the field. The Blue Devils are shooting 36.6% on shots from 3-point land (52 of 142) and 68.8% from the free throw line. As a team, Central Connecticut is grabbing 30.1 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 101 dimes this year, which is 220th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession by turning the ball over 14.4 times per contest and as a unit they commit 18.4 fouls on a nightly basis. When they are on defense, the Blue Devils are forcing 13.7 turnovers every game while drawing 17.1 personal fouls. They rank 210th in college basketball in allowing assists with 117 conceded on the campaign. The Blue Devils defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 48.4% (206 of 426) and they concede 37.6 rebounds per contest as a squad. They are giving up 39.1% on 3-point attempts and they are 325th in college hoops in points per game allowed (82.4).

The Central Connecticut Blue Devils faced the St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers and walked away with a win by a score of 78-59 in their last game. Central Connecticut finished the contest with a 44.8% FG percentage (26 of 58) and knocked down 6 of 20 shots from downtown. From the free throw line, the Blue Devils buried 20 of 23 tries for a percentage of 87.0%. When it comes to hauling in rebounds, they collected 32 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 18 assists in the matchup as well as having 7 steals and 6 blocks. With respect to defense, Central Connecticut let their opponent shoot 44.8% from the field on 26 out of 58 shooting. St. Francis Brooklyn doled out 13 assists and had 4 steals for the contest. Additionally, the Terriers had 29 rebounds (8 offensive, 21 defensive) and had 6 blocked shots. St. Francis Brooklyn ended up going 70.8% when shooting free throws by knocking down 17 of 24 attempts. They also converted 4 of their 14 tries from beyond the perimeter.

Ian Krishnan is one guy who was a factor in the game. He recorded 13 points on 4 out of 9 shooting. He played 27 mins and totaled 4 boards. Krishnan shot 44.4% from the field and also recorded 2 dimes. Another guy that was a factor in this matchup for the Blue Devils was Tre Mitchell. He snagged 2 boards and also accounted for 2 assists. He ended up going 66.7% from the field in this contest by going 4-of-6 (13 points). Overall, Mitchell played 28 minutes.

Bryant has a record of 7-2 so far this year. Bryant has earned 836 pts so far this season (92.9 per contest) and they grab 39.7 boards per game. The Bulldogs are committing 17.1 personal fouls every game and they connect on 75.9% from the free throw line. As an offensive team, the Bulldogs are connecting on 49.3% from the floor, which ranks them 41st in the nation. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 17.2 times per contest (38th in the country) and they turn it over 15.0 times per game. The Bulldogs on defense are ranked 319th in Division 1 in points given up per game with 80.6. They have surrendered 16.3 assists and 41.1 total boards per game, which ranks them 318th and 326th in those categories on the defensive end. The Bryant defense gives up 27.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter (65 of 236) and opponents are connecting on 70.5% of their foul shots. They are forcing 14.9 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 41.5% from the field (125th in Division 1).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Bryant Bulldogs went home victorious with a score of 93-88 when they faced the UMass Minutemen. The Bulldogs earned 29 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 35 in this matchup. They rejected 6 attempts while getting 7 steals for this contest. The Minutemen committed 22 fouls for this game which got the Bulldogs to the charity stripe for a total of 26 shots. They were able to make 20 of those for a clip of 76.9%. In relation to shooting from distance, Bryant buried 9 out of their 21 tries (42.9%). Overall, the Bulldogs shot 32 for 55 from the floor which gave them a rate of 58.2%. The Bulldogs allowed the Minutemen to make 27 of 69 attempts from the floor which had them at 39.1% for this contest. They went 26.5% from 3-point land by going 9 out of 34 and finished the contest at 25 out of 29 at the charity stripe (86.2%). In the matter of cleaning up the glass, Bryant permitted UMass to collect 30 in all (12 offensive).

Michael Green pitched in for the Bulldogs in this game. He made 12 of 16 for the game giving him a field goal percentage of 75.0%, which gave him 33 points. Green grabbed 5 rebounds in his 38 mins and accounted for 2 assists for this game. Another guy that played a role for Bryant was Peter Kiss. He totaled 21 points in 31 minutes on the hardwood via 7 of 12 shooting for the matchup. Kiss ended up shooting 58.3% from the floor as well as totaling 4 dimes and 3 total rebounds.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Central Connecticut (+12.5)

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