Buffalo Bulls vs West Virginia Mountaineers Prediction, 12/18/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Buffalo Bulls vs West Virginia Mountaineers

Date: Sunday, December 18, 2022

Location: WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, WV

TV: Hulu Live TV

The West Virginia Mountaineers (8-2) welcome the Buffalo Bulls (5-5) at WVU Coliseum on Sunday.

The Buffalo Bulls stepped onto the hardwood against Tulane and took a loss by a final of 88-63 in their last contest. Concerning fouls, the Bulls ended up finishing with 15 and Tulane accumulated 20 fouls. They knocked down 11 of their 29 shots from beyond the arc. Tulane walked away from this one shooting 78.9% at the free throw line by knocking down 15 of 19 attempts. Furthermore, Tulane collected 27 rebounds (4 offensive, 23 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Tulane earned 16 assists and had 11 steals for the game. Pertaining to defense, Buffalo allowed the other team to go 47.0% from the floor on 31 out of 66 shooting. They also distributed 9 assists in the game while forcing 4 turnovers and having 3 steals. With respect to getting rebounds, they collected 44 with 14 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Bulls knocked down 21 of 28 attempts for a percentage of 75.0%. Buffalo wrapped up the contest with a 31.1% field goal percentage (19 of 61) and made 4 out of their 16 3-pointers.

Laquill Hardnett is someone who came through in the matchup. He racked up 13 points on 2 out of 5 shooting. He played for 27 minutes played and pulled down 10 rebounds. He finished the game shooting 40.0% from the floor and also dished out 1 assist.

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Buffalo heads into this contest with a mark of 5-5 this season. They lose possession by turning the ball over 15.4 times per game and as a squad they are committing 18.9 personal fouls per game. As a team, Buffalo is snagging 35.2 rebounds per game and is sitting with 134 dimes on the year, which is 239th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. The Bulls are connecting on 29.6% on 3-pointers (64 of 216) and 71.0% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 75.0 points per contest (138th in D-1) while hitting 44.1% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Bulls are forcing 16.3 turnovers per game and they draw 17.8 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 230th in college basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 139 surrendered for the year. The Bulls defense is allowing a FG percentage of 43.9% (261 of 594) and they surrender 36.5 rebounds per game as a squad. They are relinquishing 30.3% on shots from downtown and they are ranked 328th in D-1 in points per game allowed (75.8).

The last time they took the court, the West Virginia Mountaineers got the victory with a final of 81-70 against UAB. The Mountaineers were able to collect 23 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards totaling 30 in this contest. They coughed up the ball 12 times, while recording 9 steals in this matchup. UAB committed 23 fouls for the matchup which took the Mountaineers to the free throw line for a total of 25 attempts. They were able to bury 22 of the free throws for a rate of 88.0%. Pertaining to shooting from 3-point land, West Virginia knocked down 5 of 19 attempts (26.3%). Overall, the Mountaineers finished shooting 27 out of 54 from the field which had them at 50.0%. The Mountaineers permitted UAB to convert 27 of 57 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 47.4% in this game. They wrapped up this game 31.3% from downtown via 5 out of 16 and walked away from this one shooting 11 of 18 at the free throw line (61.1%). Regarding cleaning the glass, West Virginia permitted UAB to pull down 32 in all (11 on the offensive side).

Kedrian Johnson ended up being a factor for the Mountaineers for the matchup. He buried 5 out of 10 in this contest for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and had 2 rebounds. He recorded 17 points in his 33 minutes on the court and earned 1 assist for the matchup.

West Virginia has a win-loss record of 8-2 on the year. The Mountaineers have committed 19.7 fouls every game and they shoot 73.9% from the charity stripe. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 15.0 times per game (99th in college basketball) and they turn the ball over 12.4 times per game. West Virginia has scored 805 pts so far this year (80.5 per contest) and they grab 34.0 boards per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Mountaineers are hitting on 49.7% from the field, which is ranked 22nd in Division 1.

The West Virginia defense surrenders 31.9% from downtown (60 of 188) and opponents are connecting on 69.6% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have conceded 11.8 assists and 30.8 total rebounds per game, which is ranked 131st and 31st in the nation. The Mountaineers defensively are ranked 93rd in D-1 in PPG given up with 65.3. They are forcing 17.3 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 41.9% from the floor (146th in D-1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take West Virginia

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