North Texas Mean Green vs Marshall Thundering Herd Prediction, 2/26/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: North Texas Mean Green vs Marshall Thundering Herd

Date: Friday, February 26, 2021

Location: Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, WV

TV: ESPNU

Odds/Point Spread: North Texas (+3.5)

The North Texas Mean Green (12-6) travel to Cam Henderson Center on Friday where they'll meet the Marshall Thundering Herd (12-5). North Texas opens this contest as 3.5-point underdogs. The total opens at 141.

North Texas will enter this matchup with a record of 12-6 so far this year. The Mean Green are shooting 37.0% on 3-pointers (139 of 376) and 74.4% from the free throw line. They average 72.3 points per outing (151st in the country) while hitting 49.0% from the field. They turn it over 13.6 times per game and as a squad they commit 15.8 fouls per contest. As a unit, North Texas is pulling in 33.6 rebounds per game and has accumulated 249 dimes so far this year, which has them ranked 208th in college hoops in terms of passing the ball. When they are on defense, the Mean Green have forced 14.5 turnovers every game while drawing 15.7 fouls. They are ranked 23rd in college basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 164 surrendered for the year. The Mean Green defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 41.3% (399 of 967) and they surrender 30.1 boards per game as a unit. They are giving up 31.5% on 3-point shots and they rank 12th in the nation in points per game allowed (61.6).

The North Texas Mean Green took the court against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and notched a win by a score of 68-56 in their last contest. North Texas finished the contest having earned a 54.3% field goal percentage (25 out of 46) and converted 6 of their 20 three-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Mean Green converted 12 of 19 shots for a percentage of 63.2%. When discussing pulling down boards, they earned 25 with 5 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 10 assists for the game as well as forcing the other team into 13 turnovers and earning 7 steals. Pertaining to defense, North Texas allowed the other team to go 40.0% from the floor on 18 out of 45 shooting. Southern Miss totaled 9 assists and had 8 steals in this game. Additionally, Southern Miss pulled down 28 boards (8 offensive, 20 defensive) and earned 0 rejections. Southern Miss ended up shooting 78.3% at the free throw line by making 18 of 23 tries. They buried 2 of their 9 tries from three-point range.

Javion Hamlet is someone who was a major factor in this contest. He walked away with 21 points on 7 of 10 shooting. He played for 31 mins played and totaled 2 rebounds. Hamlet finished 70.0% from the floor and also distributed 2 assists. Someone else that had an impact in the matchup for the Mean Green was Zachary Simmons. He had 6 rebounds in his 32 min on the hardwood. He finished the game at 87.5% from the field in this game by going 7-of-8 (17 points). When all was said and done, Simmons totaled 3 assists.

Marshall has a record of 12-5 for the campaign. Marshall has accumulated 1,402 points on the campaign (82.5 per contest) and they snag 36.2 rebounds per contest. The Thundering Herd commit 15.7 personal fouls every game and they hit 72.7% from the free throw line. As an offense, the Thundering Herd are shooting 48.2% from the floor, which ranks 40th in Division 1. They are getting an assist 17.0 times per contest (18th in the nation) and they are turning it over 12.1 times per contest. The Thundering Herd defensively are ranked 249th in the nation in PPG given up with 73.1. They are forcing their opponents into 14.8 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.7% from the field (151st in the country). The Marshall defense allows 34.7% on shots from distance (133 of 383) and their opposition makes 65.9% of their foul shots. They have allowed 12.2 dimes and 38.1 rebounds on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 118th and 307th in college basketball.

In their last game, the Marshall Thundering Herd took home the win by a final score of 96-85 when they faced the MTSU Blue Raiders. The Thundering Herd were able to snag 20 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds totaling 26 in the matchup. They also coughed it up 15 times, while earning 7 steals for the contest. The Blue Raiders were called for 14 personal fouls in this game which took the Thundering Herd to the free throw line for a total of 14 tries. They were able to make 12 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 85.7%. Regarding 3-point shots, Marshall converted 10 out of 28 tries (35.7%). Overall, the Thundering Herd finished the game shooting 37 out of 61 from the floor which had them at 60.7%. The Thundering Herd allowed the Blue Raiders to make 33 of 66 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 50.0% in this contest. They finished 50.0% from 3-point land by going 12 of 24 and finished the game at 7 of 9 from the free throw line (77.8%). In regard to rebounding, Marshall permitted MTSU to collect 28 overall (10 on the offensive glass).

Jarrod West was important for the Thundering Herd for the matchup. He knocked down 10 out of 16 for the game for a rate of 62.5%, and tallied 4 rebounds. West earned 29 points in his 40 minutes on the court and had 6 assists in the matchup. One more player that was pivotal for Marshall was Taevion Kinsey. He ended up finishing with 4 assists in his 40 minutes played, and he knocked down 11 out of 15 from the floor. Kinsey ended up shooting 73.3% from the floor and also contributing 25 points and 5 boards.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take North Texas (+3.5)

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