Liberty Flames vs BYU Cougars Prediction, 12/25/2021 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Liberty Flames vs BYU Cougars

Date: Saturday, December 25, 2021

Location: Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, HI

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: Liberty (+10)

The BYU Cougars (10-3) are welcoming the Liberty Flames (8-5) at Stan Sheriff Center on Saturday. Liberty opens this contest as 10-point dogs from Vegas oddsmakers. The over/under has been set at 132.5.

The Liberty Flames took the court against Stanford and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 79-76 in their last contest. Liberty wrapped up the contest having earned a 41.1% field goal percentage (23 out of 56) and buried 10 of their 26 shots from beyond the arc. From the free throw line, the Flames made 20 of 28 attempts for a percentage of 71.4%. Concerning grabbing rebounds, they collected 20 with 2 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 9 assists for the game while forcing the other team into 23 turnovers and earning 6 steals. Regarding defense, Liberty allowed the other team to go 56.8% from the floor on 25 out of 44 shooting. Stanford totaled 14 assists and had 3 steals for this contest. In addition, Stanford snagged 36 rebounds (5 offensive, 31 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Stanford finished the game at 63.0% at the charity stripe by making 17 of their 27 tries. They converted 12 of their 20 shots from 3-point land. In reference to fouls, the Flames ended up with 22 while Stanford totaled 25 fouls.

Darius McGhee is one guy who was a major contributor in this contest. He finished the contest at 46.4% from the field and earned 3 assists. He was on the court for 37 mins and snagged 3 rebounds. He accumulated 41 points on 13 of 28 shooting.

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Liberty comes into this matchup with a record of 8-5 so far this year. They average 70.7 pts per game (217th in the country) while shooting 46.5% from the field. The Flames are connecting on 36.7% on shots from 3-point land (134 of 365) and 68.6% from the free throw line. As a unit, Liberty is collecting 33.4 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 177 dimes on the campaign, which has them ranked 104th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. They are giving up possession 11.5 times per contest and as a basketball team are committing 15.2 personal fouls every game.

On the defensive end of the court, the Flames are forcing 13.8 turnovers per game and they draw 14.4 personal fouls. They surrender 33.5% on shots from beyond the arc and they are ranked 18th in Division 1 in points per game allowed (58.5). The Flames defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 38.7% (263 of 680) and they surrender 31.7 rebounds per game as a squad. They are 48th in Division 1 in giving up assists with 117 conceded this year.

When they last played, the BYU Cougars took a loss by a final score of 69-67 against Vanderbilt. With respect to rebounding, BYU allowed Vanderbilt to get 31 in all (9 offensive). They shot 30.8% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 8 of 26 and ended up shooting 13 of 18 at the free throw line (72.2%). The Cougars allowed Vanderbilt to convert 24 of 61 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 39.3% in the matchup. When the final whistle blew, the Cougars shot 24 for 58 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.4%. With regard to shooting from 3-point land, BYU made 8 of 20 attempts (40.0%). They were able to make 11 of the free throws for a rate of 73.3%. Vanderbilt was called for 16 fouls for the contest which got the Cougars to the charity stripe for 15 attempts. They also turned it over 18 times, while earning 6 steals for this game. The Cougars earned 27 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive boards for a total of 38 for this contest.

Fousseyni Traore ended up being a factor for the Cougars for the contest. He tallied 9 points in his 25 minutes of playing time, but didn't get an assist. He made 2 out of 5 for the matchup for a rate of 40.0%, and had 15 rebounds.

BYU has a mark of 10-3 on the season. The Cougars have committed 18.1 fouls per game while shooting 73.2% from the charity stripe. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 14.8 times per game (89th in the country) and they are turning it over 12.5 times per contest. BYU has earned 971 pts on the season (74.7 per contest) and they pull in 41.6 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Cougars are hitting on 44.5% from the floor, which ranks 161st in Division 1.

The BYU defense gives up 25.8% on 3-point shots (69 of 267) and their opponents are converting on 67.8% of their free throw attempts. They allow 9.7 assists and 32.5 boards every game, ranking them 28th and 88th in those categories. The Cougars on the defensive side of the court are 81st in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 63.8. They are able to force 11.4 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 39.1% from the field (52nd in Division 1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Liberty (+10)

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