Xavier Musketeers vs Butler Bulldogs Prediction, 1/30/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Xavier Musketeers vs Butler Bulldogs

Date: Saturday, January 30, 2021

Location: Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

TV: FS1

Odds/Point Spread: Xavier (-2.5)

The Butler Bulldogs (5-8) play the Xavier Musketeers (10-2) at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday. Butler opens this matchup as 2.5-point dogs. The O/U has been set at 134.

Xavier steps onto the hardwood with a mark of 10-2 on the season. They are averaging 78.8 points per game (57th in the nation) while shooting 47.6% from the floor. The Musketeers are connecting on 35.4% on shots from beyond the arc (97 of 274) and 68.6% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Xavier is pulling down 39.3 boards per contest and has totaled 229 assists for the campaign, which has them ranked 65th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. They turn the ball over 12.2 times per contest and as a team are committing 15.0 fouls on a nightly basis. When they are on defense, the Musketeers are forcing 12.4 turnovers per game and they draw 16.5 personal fouls. The Musketeers defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 40.1% (308 of 768) and they concede 36.3 rebounds per game as a squad. They are 184th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 174 conceded for the year. They relinquish 33.3% from 3-point land and they are ranked 163rd in college basketball in PPG allowed (69.6).

The Xavier Musketeers faced the Providence Friars and took home the win by a score of 74-73 in their last game. Xavier ended the game with a 48.3% field goal percentage (29 of 60) and buried 8 of their 23 3-point attempts. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Musketeers buried 8 of 16 attempts for a percentage of 50.0%. When talking about pulling down boards, they compiled 30 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 20 assists for the contest as well as earning 10 steals and 3 rejections. When discussing the defense, Xavier allowed 48.3% from the floor on 29 of 60 shooting. Providence earned 20 dimes and had 8 steals in the game. In addition, the Friars snagged 28 boards (4 offensive, 24 defensive) and had 3 blocks. Providence ended up shooting 33.3% at the charity stripe by burying 2 of 6 attempts. They buried 13 of 22 tries from distance.

Zach Freemantle is someone who was a factor for the matchup. He notched 17 points on 7 of 15 shooting. He played 38 mins played and also totaled 8 boards. Freemantle ended up going 46.7% from the floor and also recorded 2 assists. Someone else that was a contributor in the matchup for the Musketeers was Nate Johnson. He collected 4 rebounds and also accumulated 2 assists. He finished the contest at 62.5% from the floor for the game via 5-of-8 (14 points). When the final whistle was blown, Johnson was on the hardwood for 28 minutes.

Butler has a win-loss record of 5-8 for the season. The Bulldogs are committing 16.2 fouls per game and they connect on 61.6% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 12.2 times per contest (253rd in the nation) and they lose possession via turnover 11.5 times per contest. Butler has 818 pts on the campaign (62.9 per contest) and they pull down 32.9 boards per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Bulldogs are connecting on 41.9% from the floor, which ranks 280th in D-1. The Bulldogs on the defensive side of the court are 94th in college basketball in points given up per game with 67.1. The Butler defense gives up 36.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter (96 of 265) and opponents are converting on 70.5% of their shots from the charity stripe. They allow 14.0 assists and 32.6 total boards per game, which is 239th and 74th in college hoops. They have forced 11.6 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 45.8% from the floor (275th in college basketball).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Butler Bulldogs walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 63-51 when they faced the Connecticut Huskies. The Bulldogs collected 21 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 27 in this contest. They rejected 2 tries while recording 4 steals in this game. The Huskies earned 11 personal fouls for the matchup which took the Bulldogs to the free throw line for a total of 4 attempts. They were able to knock down 4 of those for a percentage of 100.0%. In reference to shooting from distance, Butler converted 7 out of their 21 tries (33.3%). Overall, the Bulldogs ended up going 20 out of 58 from the field which had them shooting 34.5%. The Bulldogs allowed the Huskies to convert 24 of their 48 tries from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 50.0% in the matchup. They went 50.0% from 3-point land by hitting 7 of 14 and finished the contest at 8 out of 12 from the charity stripe (66.7%). Regarding cleaning up the glass, Butler allowed Connecticut to grab 32 overall (3 offensive).

Bryce Golden ended up being a major contributor for the Bulldogs for this contest. He buried 6 out of 14 in this matchup giving him a rate of 42.9%, which had him finishing with 19 points. Golden pulled down 4 boards in his 29 mins and had 2 assists for this game. Another guy who came through for Butler was Aaron Thompson. He was able to score 8 points in his 34 minutes played via 4 of 9 shooting in this contest. Thompson walked away from this one going 44.4% from the floor in addition to totaling 2 assists and 3 boards.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Xavier (-2.5)

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