North Texas Mean Green vs Villanova Wildcats Prediction, 3/21/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: North Texas Mean Green vs Villanova Wildcats

Date: Sunday, March 21, 2021

Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

TV: TNT

Odds/Point Spread: North Texas (+6.5)

The Villanova Wildcats (17-6) host the North Texas Mean Green (18-9) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Sunday in the NCAA Tournament. Villanova opens this contest as 6.5-point favorites. The total has been set at 127.5.

North Texas will enter this contest with a win-loss record of 18-9 on the season. They are averaging 70.1 pts per game (210th in the country) while shooting 47.5% from the field. The Mean Green are hitting 37.8% on shots from 3-point land (206 of 545) and 73.9% from the free throw line. As a unit, North Texas is collecting 33.3 boards per game and has earned 361 assists this season, which is 89th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. They are giving up possession 13.0 times per contest and as a team are committing 15.8 fouls per game. On defense, the Mean Green have forced 14.1 turnovers every game while drawing 15.2 personal fouls. The Mean Green defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 40.7% (588 of 1,445) and they surrender 31.0 rebounds per game as a unit. They are ranked 74th in college basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 248 relinquished on the campaign. They are surrendering 32.4% on 3-pointers and they rank 11th in Division 1 in PPG allowed (61.5).

The North Texas Mean Green took the court against the Purdue Boilermakers and walked away with a win by a score of 78-69 in their last contest. North Texas wrapped up the contest with a 47.5% field goal percentage (28 of 59) and converted 9 of their 21 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the free throw line, the Mean Green made 13 of 15 shots for a percentage of 86.7%. With respect to pulling down boards, they earned a total of 28 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 14 assists in the game as well as forcing 11 turnovers and getting 4 steals. With regard to the defense, North Texas allowed the other team to shoot 36.2% from the floor on 25 of 69 shooting. Purdue recorded 13 assists and had 2 steals in this game. Moreover, Purdue grabbed 37 boards (18 offensive, 19 defensive) and earned 6 rejections. Purdue finished the game shooting 71.4% from the charity stripe by knocking down 10 of 14 shots. They made 9 of 30 attempts from beyond the arc.

Javion Hamlet is one player who was a major contributor for this game. He racked up 24 points on 7 of 18 shooting. He played 43 minutes and also pulled down 12 rebounds. Hamlet finished 38.9% from the floor and totaled 5 dimes. Another guy that had an impact in the game for the Mean Green was Thomas Bell. He had 5 rebounds in his 42 minutes played. He finished shooting 53.8% from the floor for this game by shooting 7-of-13 (16 points). When the final whistle blew, Bell earned 3 assists.

Villanova has a win-loss record of 17-6 on the campaign. As an offense, the Wildcats are shooting 45.0% from the field, which ranks them 127th in college basketball. Villanova has accumulated 1,735 pts for the season (75.4 per contest) and they pull in 34.3 boards per game. They are earning an assist 15.1 times per game (61st in D-1) and they are giving up possession 8.9 times per game. The Wildcats are responsible for committing 15.7 fouls per game while shooting 76.3% from the charity stripe. The Wildcats defensively are ranked 81st in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 67.0. The Villanova defense allows 35.1% on 3-point shots (182 of 518) and their opponents are connecting on 68.5% of their foul shots. They relinquish 12.1 assists and 33.0 boards per game, which is ranked 109th and 90th in college hoops. They are forcing 12.5 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.2% from the field (212th in D-1).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Villanova Wildcats walked away with a victory by a final of 73-63 when they played the Winthrop Eagles. The Wildcats pulled down 25 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive boards for a total of 31 for the game. They also turned the ball over 6 times, while earning 3 steals for the contest. The Eagles committed 23 fouls in this game which got the Wildcats to the charity stripe for 26 attempts. They were able to knock down 19 of the free throw tries for a clip of 73.1%. When it comes to three-point shots, Villanova knocked down 8 out of 25 attempts (32.0%). When the final whistle blew, the Wildcats walked away from this one shooting 23 out of 52 from the field which gave them a percentage of 44.2%. The Wildcats permitted the Eagles to convert 21 of their 58 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 36.2% for the contest. They finished 31.8% from behind the 3-point line by hitting 7 of 22 and finished the game at 14 of 19 from the free throw line (73.7%). In the matter of rebounding, Villanova permitted Winthrop to grab 34 in all (9 on the offensive side).

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl ended up being a factor for the Wildcats in the game. He made 7 of 15 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 46.7%, and had 11 rebounds. Robinson-Earl tallied 22 points in his 38 mins of playing time and accounted for 5 dimes in this matchup. One more player who came through for Villanova was Justin Moore. He wrapped the game up with 2 assists in his 37 mins on the hardwood, and he put in 5 of 14 from the floor. Moore finished going 35.7% from the field as well as collecting 15 points and 3 boards.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take North Texas (+6.5)

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