Jacksonville State Gamecocks vs Eastern Kentucky Colonels Prediction, 1/7/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Jacksonville State Gamecocks vs Eastern Kentucky Colonels

Date: Thursday, January 7, 2021

Location: McBrayer Arena in Richmond, KY

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Jacksonville State (+6)

McBrayer Arena is the site where and the Eastern Kentucky Colonels (9-2) will play the Jacksonville State Gamecocks (7-2) on Thursday. Eastern Kentucky opens this matchup as 6-point favorites. The O/U has been set at 145.

Jacksonville State heads into this contest with a record of 7-2 so far this season. The Gamecocks are shooting 37.2% on 3-pointers (84 of 226) and 67.8% from the charity stripe. They average 75.6 pts per game (122nd in Division 1) while going 45.6% from the floor. They are turning it over 14.3 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 15.2 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Jacksonville State is pulling in 39.3 rebounds per game and is sitting with 140 dimes so far this season, which ranks 99th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. When they are on defense, the Gamecocks have forced 13.2 turnovers every game and they draw 17.6 personal fouls. They are conceding 29.4% on shots from distance and they are 56th in the country in opponents PPG (64.0). The Gamecocks defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 39.7% (213 of 536) and they relinquish 34.3 rebounds per game as a team. They rank 174th in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 106 conceded for the season.

The Jacksonville State Gamecocks played the UT Martin Skyhawks and went home with a win by a final score of 80-70 in their last game. Jacksonville State walked away from the contest with a 47.4% field goal percentage (27 out of 57) and buried 8 of their 21 shots from downtown. From the charity stripe, the Gamecocks knocked down 18 of their 21 shots for a percentage of 85.7%. When talking about pulling down boards, they earned 34 with 7 of them being offensive. They also doled out 16 assists for the matchup as well as earning 6 steals and 3 rejections. When talking about the defense, Jacksonville State allowed the other team to shoot 47.4% from the field on 27 of 57 shooting. UT Martin doled out 15 assists and had 5 steals in this game. In addition, the Skyhawks pulled down 36 rebounds (12 offensive, 24 defensive) and added 3 blocks. UT Martin ended up shooting 58.8% from the free throw line by making 10 of 17 shots. They converted 8 out of their 21 tries from 3-point land.

Amanze Ngumezi is a player who was a contributor for the game. He ended up finishing with 20 points on 6 of 9 shooting. He played for 21 mins and totaled 8 rebounds. Ngumezi finished 66.7% from the field and also recorded 2 assists. One more player that came through in this matchup for the Gamecocks was Jalen Finch. He snagged 2 boards and tallied 4 assists. He finished shooting 46.2% from the floor in the matchup by going 6-of-13 (18 points). When the final whistle blew, Finch played for 35 minutes.

Eastern Kentucky has a win-loss mark of 9-2 for the season. Eastern Kentucky has scored 898 points on the year (81.6 per game) and they collect 37.5 boards per contest. The Colonels are responsible for committing 19.9 personal fouls every game and they shoot 70.6% from the charity stripe. On the offensive side of the ball, the Colonels are shooting 43.8% from the floor, which has them ranked 201st in D-1. They are earning an assist 15.3 times per game (86th in college basketball) and they turn it over 14.2 times per contest. The Colonels on the defensive side of the court are 154th in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 68.5. The Eastern Kentucky defense allows 29.2% on 3-point shots (66 of 226) and their opponents are connecting on 73.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They have surrendered 14.0 assists and 39.4 boards per contest, which is 244th and 302nd in those categories on the defensive end. They are forcing 22.3 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 41.7% from the field (132nd in college basketball).

When they last played, the Eastern Kentucky Colonels walked away with a victory by a final of 80-75 against the Austin Peay Governors. The Colonels were able to pull down 28 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards totaling 38 in the game. They also rejected 2 shots while recording 8 steals in this game. The Governors were called for 20 fouls in the game which got the Colonels to the charity stripe for a total of 27 attempts. They were able to knock down 19 of those for a percentage of 70.4%. When it comes to 3-point shots, Eastern Kentucky made 11 of their 22 tries (50.0%). In all, the Colonels finished 25 out of 55 from the floor which had them at 45.5%. The Colonels allowed the Governors to make 26 of 68 attempts from the field which left them shooting 38.2% in this contest. They shot 18.2% from distance by going 4 out of 22 and ended up shooting 19 out of 21 at the free throw line (90.5%). Regarding how they attacked the glass, Eastern Kentucky permitted Austin Peay to pull down 35 in all (13 offensive).

Wendell Green ended up being important for the Colonels in the game. He buried 9 out of 18 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 50.0%, which gave him 30 points. Green collected 5 boards in his 33 minutes played and accumulated 2 assists for this contest. One more player that was important for Eastern Kentucky was Brandon Knapper. He ended up finishing with 15 points in his 21 minutes on the court by going 3 of 7 from the floor for the matchup. Knapper finished going 42.9% from the floor as well as contributing 2 assists and 2 total rebounds.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Jacksonville State (+6)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here