Providence Friars vs Connecticut Huskies Prediction, 12/18/2021 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Providence Friars vs Connecticut Huskies

Date: Saturday, December 18, 2021

Location: XL Center in Hartford, CT

TV: FOX

XL Center is the location where the Connecticut Huskies (9-2) will play the Providence Friars (10-1) on Saturday.

The Providence Friars took the court against Central Connecticut State and went home with a win by a final score of 68-53 in their last game. In reference to personal fouls, the Friars ended up with 15 and Central Connecticut State finished the game with 13 personal fouls. They also knocked down 7 out of their 27 attempts from three-point range. Central Connecticut State went 50.0% at the charity stripe by knocking down 10 of their 20 attempts. On top of that, Central Connecticut State grabbed 40 rebounds (6 offensive, 34 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Central Connecticut State doled out 7 assists and had 7 steals for this game. Concerning defense, Providence let their opponent shoot 28.1% from the field on 18 out of 64 shooting. They also dished out 17 assists for the game while creating 10 turnovers and earning 6 steals. In the matter of grabbing rebounds, they earned 44 with 4 of them being of the offensive variety. From the free throw line, the Friars converted 6 of 11 attempts for a percentage of 54.5%. Providence walked away from the game having earned a 43.1% field goal percentage (28 of 65) and converted 6 out of their 26 3-point attempts.

A.J. Reeves is one player who played a role in the game. He ended up shooting 41.2% from the floor and recorded 7 assists. He played 33 minutes played and also snagged 9 rebounds. He ended up walking away with 17 points on 7 of 17 shooting.

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Providence will play this contest with a win-loss mark of 10-1 so far this year. They have an average of 70.9 pts per contest (202nd in D-1) while shooting 45.0% from the floor. The Friars are shooting 32.2% on 3-point shots (75 of 233) and 72.5% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Providence is snagging 36.3 rebounds per game and is sitting with 161 assists on the season, which has them ranked 74th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They cough up possession 11.8 times per contest and as a unit are committing 15.6 fouls per contest.

On defense, the Friars are forcing 11.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 19.3 personal fouls. They are giving up 31.8% from beyond the arc while they are 63rd in D-1 in points per game allowed (62.3). The Friars are giving up a field goal percentage of 40.2% (252 of 627) and they surrender 31.7 rebounds per game as a squad. They currently rank 130th in Division 1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 119 surrendered for the year.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Connecticut Huskies walked away with a victory by a final of 74-64 when they faced St. Bonaventure. The Huskies collected 27 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards totaling 34 for the contest. They also gave up possession of the ball 8 times, while recording 3 steals in this matchup. St. Bonaventure had 21 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Huskies to the free throw line for 24 shots. They were able to knock down 18 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 75.0%. With respect to shooting from distance, Connecticut converted 8 of 27 tries (29.6%). When all was said and done, the Huskies walked away from this one shooting 24 for 57 from the floor which had them shooting 42.1%. The Huskies permitted St. Bonaventure to knock down 24 of 62 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 38.7% in this matchup. They went 35.7% from distance by connecting on 5 out of 14 and ended up going 11 of 13 at the charity stripe (84.6%). In the matter of cleaning the glass, Connecticut allowed St. Bonaventure to pull down 38 in total (11 offensive).

Andre Jackson was important for the Huskies for this game. He had 9 points in his 32 mins on the court and added 5 dimes for the matchup. He knocked down 3 out of 3 for this game for a field goal percentage of 100.0%, and accounted for 11 rebounds.

Connecticut has a win-loss mark of 9-2 on the season. The Huskies commit 18.0 fouls every game while shooting 74.2% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 15.4 times per contest (67th in college basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 12.5 times per contest. Connecticut has scored 900 points so far this year (81.8 per contest) and they average 42.9 boards per game. As an offense, the Huskies are connecting on 44.5% from the field, which has them ranked 167th in Division 1.

The Huskies defensively are ranked 61st in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 62.1. They are forcing 16.5 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 37.5% from the floor (21st in the country). The Connecticut defense allows 32.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter (65 of 202) and their opposition knocks down 64.3% of their free throw attempts. They surrender 9.7 dimes and 34.3 boards per contest, which has them ranked 27th and 167th in those categories.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Connecticut

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