Louisville Cardinals vs Boston College Eagles Prediction, 1/2/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Louisville Cardinals vs Boston College Eagles

Date: Saturday, January 2, 2021

Location: Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA

TV: ACCNX

Odds/Point Spread: Louisville (-5.5)

The Boston College Eagles (2-6) play the Louisville Cardinals (6-1) at Silvio O. Conte Forum on Saturday. Louisville opens this matchup as 5.5-point favorites. The total opens at 141.5.

Louisville comes into this matchup with a win-loss record of 6-1 so far this year. The Cardinals are shooting 31.9% on shots from beyond the arc (37 of 116) and 72.9% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 69.3 points per contest (234th in the country) while hitting 47.8% from the field. They are turning it over 13.3 times per contest and as a basketball team they commit 18.4 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Louisville is pulling down 37.4 rebounds per game and has totaled 88 assists this season, which has them ranked 211th in the nation in terms of passing. On the defensive end of the court, the Cardinals are able to force 11.9 turnovers every game and they draw 18.6 fouls. The Cardinals defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 39.3% (153 of 389) and they relinquish 31.0 boards per game as a group. They are currently ranked 74th in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 70 relinquished on the season. They relinquish 33.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are ranked 33rd in college hoops in points per game from their opponents (61.4).

The Louisville Cardinals faced off with the Kentucky Wildcats and took home the win by a score of 62-59 in their last game. Louisville ended with a 42.3% field goal percentage (22 of 52) and made 6 out of their 20 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the free throw line, the Cardinals converted 12 of their 15 attempts for a percentage of 80.0%. With regard to pulling down rebounds, they collected a total of 34 with 7 of them being offensive. They also doled out 9 assists for this game while getting 5 steals and 2 blocks. When it comes to the defense, Louisville let their opponent shoot 42.3% from the floor on 22 out of 52 shooting. Kentucky doled out 6 dimes and had 7 steals in this matchup. In addition, the Wildcats collected 35 rebounds (15 offensive, 20 defensive) and had 2 blocked shots. Kentucky shot 63.6% from the charity stripe by converting 14 of their 22 attempts. They also knocked down 5 out of their 17 shots from distance.

Carlik Jones is someone who was a factor for this contest. He ended up scoring 20 points on 7 of 16 shooting. He saw the court for 38 mins and also snagged 5 boards. Jones finished shooting 43.8% from the floor and distributed 2 dimes. Someone else that was a factor in this game for the Cardinals was David Johnson. He collected 7 rebounds and also tallied 4 dimes. He walked away from this one shooting 50.0% from the floor in this contest by shooting 5-of-10 (17 points). Overall, Johnson saw the court for 40 minutes.

Boston College has a record of 2-6 so far this year. As an offense, the Eagles are hitting on 44.1% from the field, which has them ranked 201st in college basketball. Boston College has earned 596 pts on the year (74.5 per game) and they average 33.0 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 12.1 times per contest (254th in the nation) and they lose possession via turnover 14.9 times per contest. The Eagles have committed 18.9 fouls per contest and they go 66.4% from the charity stripe. The Eagles are ranked 314th in college hoops in points per game surrendered with 81.8. The Boston College defense concedes 33.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter (58 of 172) and opponents are connecting on 71.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They have allowed 15.1 dimes and 36.5 rebounds every game, which has them ranked 272nd and 221st in college hoops. They are able to force 15.6 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 50.2% from the floor (328th in the nation).

When they last stepped on the court, the Boston College Eagles took a defeat with a final score of 79-76 when they played the NC State Wolfpack. The Eagles were able to corral 16 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 26 for this game. They blocked 2 attempts while recording 6 steals in the matchup. The Wolfpack had 17 fouls for the matchup which took the Eagles to the free throw line for a total of 16 tries. They were able to make 12 of them for a rate of 75.0%. In regard to shooting from beyond the arc, Boston College made 10 of their 23 attempts (43.5%). When the final whistle blew, the Eagles finished shooting 27 for 57 from the field which gave them a percentage of 47.4%. The Eagles allowed the Wolfpack to knock down 28 of 54 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 51.9% in the game. They wrapped up this game 25.0% from distance by hitting 5 of 20 and walked away from this one shooting 18 of 26 at the free throw line (69.2%). In reference to how they cleaned up the glass, Boston College permitted North Carolina State to get 29 overall (9 offensive).

Wynston Tabbs ended up being a major contributor for the Eagles in this matchup. He made 5 out of 9 in this contest giving him a rate of 55.6%, which gave him 18 points. Tabbs collected 2 rebounds in his 34 mins and accumulated 2 assists for this contest. Another guy that ended being a contributor for Boston College was Jay Heath. He was able to score 17 points in his 31 minutes played via 7 of 15 from the floor for the game. Heath walked away from this one going 46.7% from the floor while earning 2 assists and 2 rebounds.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Louisville (-5.5)

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