Butler Bulldogs vs Xavier Musketeers Prediction, 3/9/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Butler Bulldogs vs Xavier Musketeers

Date: Wednesday, March 9, 2022

Location: Madison Square Garden in New York, NY

TV: FS1

The Xavier Musketeers (18-12) will play the Butler Bulldogs (13-18) at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.

The Butler Bulldogs took the court against Villanova and went home with a loss by a final score of 78-59 in their last contest. Butler ended the contest having earned a 36.4% field goal percentage (20 of 55) and made 5 of their 25 3-pointers. At the charity stripe, the Bulldogs made 14 of 19 attempts for a percentage of 73.7%. With regard to pulling down boards, they earned a total of 24 with 5 of them being offensive. They also dished out 8 dimes for the matchup in addition to forcing the opposition into 13 turnovers and getting 7 steals. In relation to defense, Butler allowed 49.2% from the field on 30 out of 61 shooting. Villanova recorded 13 assists and had 3 steals for the game. In addition, Villanova collected 33 boards (10 offensive, 23 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Villanova finished the game shooting 70.0% from the charity stripe by knocking down 7 of their 10 attempts. They knocked down 11 of 24 shots from distance. In regard to personal fouls, the Bulldogs walked away with 15 while Villanova finished the game with 19 personal fouls.

Chuck Harris is one guy who was a factor in the game. He racked up 19 points on 7 of 13 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 37 mins and snagged 2 rebounds. He finished 53.8% from the field and also dished out 2 dimes.

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Butler steps onto the court with a win-loss mark of 13-18 for the season. They are giving up possession 12.2 times per contest and as a team are committing 16.2 personal fouls every game. As a team, Butler is pulling in 32.1 boards per contest and has racked up 345 dimes this year, which is 284th in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Bulldogs are shooting 31.0% on shots beyond the perimeter (218 of 703) and 69.5% from the free throw line. They are averaging 63.1 points per contest (339th in D-1) on 41.8% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Bulldogs have forced 11.6 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.6 personal fouls. They concede 31.6% on three-point shots and they rank 98th in Division 1 in opponents PPG (66.5). The Bulldogs defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 43.4% (749 of 1,724) and they relinquish 33.5 rebounds per contest as a team. They are ranked 167th in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 374 surrendered for the year.

The last time they took the court, the Xavier Musketeers walked away with a victory by a final of 97-75 when they played Georgetown. Concerning rebounds, Xavier allowed Georgetown to grab 34 in total (12 on the offensive side). They finished 25.0% from distance via 5 of 20 and ended up going 16 of 23 at the free throw line (69.6%). The Musketeers permitted Georgetown to convert 27 of 65 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 41.5% for the contest. When the final whistle blew, the Musketeers finished 35 for 64 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 54.7%. In reference to shooting from 3-point land, Xavier knocked down 14 out of 25 tries (56.0%). They were able to convert 13 of the free throw tries for a clip of 72.2%. Georgetown was called for 15 personal fouls for the contest which got the Musketeers to the charity stripe for a total of 18 attempts. They turned the ball over 9 times, while getting 8 steals for this game. The Musketeers recorded 26 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 33 for this contest.

Colby Jones ended up being a major contributor for the Musketeers in this contest. He recorded 16 points in his 30 mins on the court and added 7 dimes for this game. He converted 4 of 6 in the game giving him a rate of 66.7%, and added 6 rebounds.

Xavier has a record of 18-12 on the season. The Musketeers have committed 15.2 personal fouls every game while shooting 71.3% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 14.6 times per game (78th in the nation) and they cough up possession 11.8 times per game. Xavier has accounted for 2,210 pts so far this year (73.7 per game) and they pull in 37.1 boards per game. When it comes to offense, the Musketeers are shooting 44.5% from the floor, which is 155th in the country.

The Xavier defense surrenders 33.0% on 3-pointers (216 of 655) and their opponents are making 74.2% of their foul shots. They have conceded 12.4 assists and 34.2 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 159th and 158th in college hoops. The Musketeers on the defensive side of the court are 168th in college basketball in points given up per game with 68.6. They are forcing 12.9 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 42.3% from the floor (131st in college basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Butler

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