Idaho Vandals vs Southern Utah Thunderbirds Prediction, 1/7/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Idaho Vandals vs Southern Utah Thunderbirds

Date: Thursday, January 7, 2021

Location: America First Events Center in Cedar City, UT

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Idaho (+12)

America First Events Center is the site where and the Southern Utah Thunderbirds (7-1) will play the Idaho Vandals (0-7) on Thursday. Southern Utah opens this game as 12-point favorites. The over/under opens at 147.

Idaho enters this one with a win-loss mark of 0-7 for the year. They have an average of 60.0 points per contest (334th in D-1) while going 41.7% from the field. The Vandals are connecting on 35.5% on shots beyond the perimeter (49 of 138) and 65.6% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Idaho is collecting 30.4 rebounds per game and is sitting with 94 dimes this season, which is 243rd in college basketball in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession by turning the ball over 17.1 times per contest and as a team they are committing 18.9 fouls on a nightly basis. Defensively, the Vandals have forced 12.0 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.3 personal fouls. The Vandals defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 46.2% (189 of 409) and they concede 37.3 boards per game as a group. They are currently ranked 110th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 91 relinquished for the campaign. They are surrendering 35.5% on 3-pointers and they are 283rd in college hoops in PPG allowed (75.3).

The Idaho Vandals faced the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks and took a loss by a final of 83-78 in their last game. Idaho walked away from the contest with a 50.9% FG percentage (29 of 57) and converted 8 of their 21 3-point attempts. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Vandals converted 12 of their 15 shots for a rate of 80.0%. In the matter of hauling in rebounds, they compiled 30 with 4 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 16 assists for the matchup while earning 6 steals and 3 blocked shots. Concerning defending, Idaho allowed the other team to shoot 50.9% from the floor on 29 of 57 shooting. Northern Arizona earned 13 dimes and had 11 steals in the matchup. Additionally, the Lumberjacks pulled down 31 boards (7 offensive, 24 defensive) and had 3 rejections. Northern Arizona finished the game shooting 83.3% when shooting free throws by converting 15 of 18 tries. They knocked down 10 out of their 25 attempts from 3-point range.

Scott Blakney is one guy who came through for the game. He ended up finishing with 23 points on 10 of 14 shooting. He played for 28 mins played and also grabbed 5 rebounds. Blakney ended up going 71.4% from the field and dished out 2 assists. An additional guy that had an impact in this matchup for the Vandals was Gabe Quinnett. He grabbed 3 rebounds and also accounted for 2 dimes. He shot 60.0% from the floor in this game by connecting on 6-of-10 (18 points). In all, Quinnett saw the court for 36 min.

Southern Utah has a win-loss record of 7-1 for the year. The Thunderbirds are responsible for committing 18.0 fouls per contest and they hit 66.8% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 16.4 times per game (57th in the country) and they turn it over 13.4 times per game. Southern Utah has scored 677 points for the season (84.6 per game) and they collect 42.1 boards per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Thunderbirds are shooting 46.9% from the field, which has them ranked 96th in D-1. The Thunderbirds on the defensive end are ranked 117th in Division 1 in PPG given up with 67.4. They have allowed 13.9 dimes and 30.0 rebounds on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 241st and 28th in those defensive categories. The Southern Utah defense surrenders 32.7% on 3-pointers (54 of 165) and their opponents are converting on 66.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They are forcing 15.3 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.5% from the floor (172nd in D-1).

The last time they took the court, the Southern Utah Thunderbirds took home the win by a final score of 96-57 against the Bethesda Flames. The Thunderbirds snagged 33 defensive rebounds and 16 offensive rebounds for a total of 49 in the matchup. They also turned away 3 tries while recording 13 steals for the game. The Flames earned 16 personal fouls for the contest which took the Thunderbirds to the free throw line for a total of 24 shots. They were able to make 17 of those for a percentage of 70.8%. When talking about 3-pointers, Southern Utah converted 13 of 29 tries (44.8%). When the final whistle was blown, the Thunderbirds shot 33 out of 65 from the floor which had them sitting at 50.8%. The Thunderbirds permitted the Flames to knock down 22 of 63 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 34.9% for this contest. They finished 25.0% from distance by going 6 of 24 and finished the game at 7 out of 11 at the charity stripe (63.6%). With respect to how they rebounded, Southern Utah allowed Bethesda to get 19 in total (3 offensive).

Maizen Fausett was important for the Thunderbirds for the game. He converted 7 out of 10 in this game for a field goal rate of 70.0%, which got him 23 points. Fausett grabbed 8 rebounds in his 26 mins played and had 2 dimes for the game. One more player that was pivotal for Southern Utah was Dre Marin. He walked away with 13 points in 22 minutes played via 5 out of 8 shooting for the game. Marin ended the game having shot 62.5% from the field in addition to collecting 5 assists and 5 rebounds.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Idaho (+12)

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