DePaul Blue Demons vs Northwestern Wildcats Prediction, 12/18/2021 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: DePaul Blue Demons vs Northwestern Wildcats

Date: Saturday, December 18, 2021

Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, IL

TV: BTN

The Northwestern Wildcats (7-2) will take on the DePaul Blue Demons (9-1) at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Saturday.

The DePaul Blue Demons faced UIC and walked away with a win by a score of 72-66 in their last contest. In reference to fouls, the Blue Demons left the arena with 13 while UIC finished the game with 19 fouls. They knocked down 5 of 28 shots from beyond the perimeter. UIC went 77.8% at the charity stripe by making 7 of 9 shots. Furthermore, UIC snagged 25 rebounds (3 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. UIC earned 18 dimes and had 1 steal in this game. When talking about the defense, DePaul allowed 44.3% from the floor on 27 of 61 shooting. They also doled out 9 dimes in this game as well as forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and earning 6 steals. In the matter of getting rebounds, they compiled 35 with 10 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Blue Demons knocked down 13 of 20 attempts for a rate of 65.0%. DePaul ended the game with a 45.9% FG percentage (28 of 61) and knocked down 3 out of their 15 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Javon Freeman-Liberty is someone who was a major factor for the game. He finished shooting 34.8% from the field and totaled 3 assists. He played 36 minutes played and also collected 7 boards. He accounted for 27 points on 8 out of 23 shooting.

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DePaul will play this game with a win-loss mark of 9-1 for the year. They are losing possession via turnover 11.9 times per contest and as a basketball team are committing 14.1 fouls every game. As a team, DePaul is grabbing 41.8 rebounds per game and has accounted for 122 dimes so far this year, which has them ranked 260th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Blue Demons are shooting 32.2% on shots from downtown (67 of 208) and 68.5% from the free throw line. They are averaging 81.6 pts per game (27th in Division 1) while hitting 47.6% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Blue Demons are forcing 13.5 turnovers every game and they draw 18.1 fouls. They are giving up 31.0% on 3-point shots and they rank 169th in college basketball in points per game allowed (67.5). The Blue Demons defense is allowing a FG percentage of 39.5% (254 of 643) and they relinquish 34.8 boards per game as a team. They currently rank 143rd in Division 1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 122 surrendered on the year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Northwestern Wildcats got the win with a final of 70-52 against NJIT. In reference to rebounding, Northwestern allowed NJIT to get 32 in total (5 on the offensive side). They finished 39.3% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 11 of 28 and ended up shooting 9 out of 12 at the free throw line (75.0%). The Wildcats permitted NJIT to bury 16 of their 55 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 29.1% for the game. In all, the Wildcats ended up going 27 out of 62 from the field which gave them a percentage of 43.5%. Regarding 3-point shots, Northwestern made 5 of their 20 attempts (25.0%). They were able to make 11 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 84.6%. NJIT earned 19 fouls for this game which took the Wildcats to the charity stripe for a total of 13 tries. They gave up possession of the ball 6 times, while earning 7 steals for this contest. The Wildcats were able to corral 32 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 39 in this matchup.

Ryan Young ended up being a factor for the Wildcats in this game. He knocked down 5 out of 11 for the game giving him a rate of 45.5%, and added 9 rebounds. He earned 13 points in his 18 mins on the court and earned 2 assists for this contest.

Northwestern has a mark of 7-2 on the campaign. The Wildcats commit 16.4 personal fouls per contest and they shoot 78.9% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 18.6 times per game (9th in college hoops) and they turn the ball over 8.8 times per contest. Northwestern has tallied 700 points on the season (77.8 per game) and they collect 38.3 boards per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Wildcats are connecting on 45.7% from the field, which is 119th in the nation.

The Northwestern defense surrenders 34.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter (70 of 204) and their opponents are making 73.0% of their foul shots. They relinquish 12.8 assists and 34.9 rebounds per game, which is 200th and 188th in college hoops. The Wildcats are ranked 60th in college hoops in PPG allowed with 62.0. They have forced 14.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 37.3% from the field (17th in college hoops).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take DePaul

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