Omaha Mavericks vs North Dakota State Bison Prediction, 1/8/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Omaha Mavericks vs North Dakota State Bison

Date: Friday, January 8, 2021

Location: Scheels Center in Fargo, ND

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Omaha (+9)

The North Dakota State Bison (4-6) play the Omaha Mavericks (2-10) at Scheels Center on Friday. North Dakota State opens this matchup as 9-point favorites. The total opens at 136.

Omaha will play this game with a mark of 2-10 for the year. They are turning it over 14.8 times per game and as a group are committing 18.9 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Omaha is pulling in 35.4 boards per game and has 118 dimes this year, which ranks 161st in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. The Mavericks are shooting 28.6% on 3-point shots (53 of 185) and 68.3% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 64.6 points per game (305th in college hoops) while shooting 40.2% from the floor. On the defensive end of the court, the Mavericks are forcing their opponents into 12.3 turnovers every game while drawing 17.2 personal fouls. They surrender 39.6% on 3-pointers and they are 315th in college hoops in opponents PPG (79.5). The Mavericks defense is giving up an opponent FG percentage of 46.3% (340 of 735) and they surrender 38.6 boards per contest as a unit. They are 336th in college basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 183 surrendered this year.

The Omaha Mavericks stepped onto the hardwood against the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles and ended up losing by a score of 86-75 in their last contest. Omaha walked away from the contest with a 42.5% FG percentage (31 of 73) and made 1 out of their 12 shots from downtown. From the charity stripe, the Mavericks converted 12 of 18 attempts for a rate of 66.7%. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they collected 37 with 13 of them being offensive. They also doled out 10 assists in this contest in addition to getting 8 steals and 2 blocked shots. With regard to defense, Omaha allowed 42.5% from the floor on 31 of 73 shooting. Oral Roberts distributed 11 dimes and had 5 steals for this game. In addition, the Golden Eagles grabbed 34 rebounds (6 offensive, 28 defensive) and had 2 blocks. Oral Roberts finished shooting 85.7% when shooting free throws by converting 18 of 21 tries. They converted 12 of 26 tries from long range.

Marlon Ruffin is a player who played a role in this contest. He ended up scoring 21 points on 9 of 18 shooting. He played for 30 minutes played and also grabbed 5 rebounds. Ruffin ended up shooting 50.0% from the floor and also dished out 2 assists. One more player that was a major contributor in the matchup for the Mavericks was La'Mel Robinson. He totaled 7 rebounds and accounted for 2 assists. He finished the contest at 62.5% from the field in the game by connecting on 5-of-8 (16 points). When all was said and done, Robinson was on the court for 21 min.

North Dakota State has a record of 4-6 on the season. North Dakota State has scored 654 pts this season (65.4 per contest) and they pull down 37.3 rebounds per game. The Bison have committed 16.7 fouls every game and they shoot 74.4% from the free throw line. When it comes to offense, the Bison are connecting on 42.1% from the floor, which is 262nd in the nation. They are dishing out assists 10.4 times per contest (316th in college hoops) and they turn it over 13.7 times per game. The Bison on the defensive side of the court are 126th in college basketball in PPG surrendered with 67.7. The North Dakota State defense surrenders 31.6% on shots from distance (71 of 225) and opponents are connecting on 65.4% of their shots from the charity stripe. They allow 13.2 dimes and 32.1 rebounds per contest, which ranks them 201st and 66th in the country. They are forcing 9.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 43.3% from the floor (203rd in college basketball).

In their last game, the North Dakota State Bison walked away with a victory by a final of 78-67 when they played the Western Illinois Leathernecks. The Bison were able to collect 27 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards totaling 34 in this matchup. They also rejected 3 attempts while recording 2 steals in this contest. The Leathernecks earned 19 fouls in the matchup which took the Bison to the free throw line for a total of 21 tries. They were able to make 15 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 71.4%. In the matter of shots from distance, North Dakota State made 7 of 21 tries (33.3%). In all, the Bison finished shooting 28 for 53 from the field which gave them a percentage of 52.8%. The Bison permitted the Leathernecks to convert 25 of their 59 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 42.4% for the contest. They finished 26.1% from behind the 3-point line by going 6 of 23 and walked away from this one shooting 11 out of 14 from the free throw line (78.6%). When discussing how they rebounded, North Dakota State permitted Western Illinois to snag 25 in total (5 offensive).

Tyree Eady was important for the Bison in this game. He converted 7 of 9 in this game giving him a field goal percentage of 77.8%, which earned him 16 points. Eady grabbed 8 rebounds in his 35 mins and had 2 assists for the game. One more player that was pivotal for North Dakota State was Jarius Cook. He finished with 14 points in 31 minutes played by going 5 of 11 shooting in this game. Cook ended up shooting 45.5% from the field and also earning 3 assists and 3 total rebounds.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Omaha (+9)

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