Norfolk State Spartans vs Baylor Bears Prediction, 3/17/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Norfolk State Spartans vs Baylor Bears

Date: Thursday, March 17, 2022

Location: Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX

TV: TBS

Odds/Point Spread: Norfolk State (+22)

The Norfolk State Spartans (24-6) are traveling to Dickies Arena on Thursday where they will meet the Baylor Bears (26-6). Norfolk State opens this matchup as 22-point dogs. The total comes in at 138.

The Norfolk State Spartans faced Coppin State and went home with a win by a final score of 72-57 in their last contest. With respect to personal fouls, the Spartans ended up with 11 and Coppin State finished the game with 16 personal fouls. They also buried 5 of 35 tries from beyond the arc. Coppin State finished the game shooting 58.8% at the charity stripe by burying 10 of their 17 attempts. On top of that, Coppin State snagged 19 boards (6 offensive, 13 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Coppin State recorded 11 assists and had 13 steals for the contest. Regarding defense, Norfolk State allowed the other team to shoot 35.0% from the floor on 21 of 60 shooting. They also recorded 13 assists in this game in addition to creating 9 turnovers and earning 4 steals. With respect to getting rebounds, they earned 35 with 7 of them being of the offensive variety. When they shot from the free throw line, the Spartans made 13 of their 15 shots for a percentage of 86.7%. Norfolk State finished the game with a 48.0% FG percentage (24 out of 50) and made 11 out of their 23 3-point shots.

Joe Bryant is one player who was a major contributor in this contest. He finished the game at 50.0% from the field and dished out 2 assists. He saw the court for 39 mins and grabbed 4 rebounds. He ended up with 23 points on 7 out of 14 shooting.

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Norfolk State enters this game with a mark of 24-6 so far this season. They are turning it over 14.0 times per game and as a unit are committing 17.7 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Norfolk State is collecting 38.8 boards per game and has accumulated 379 dimes on the campaign, which ranks 238th in college hoops in terms of passing the ball. The Spartans are hitting 34.8% on shots from downtown (211 of 607) and 69.8% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 75.1 points per game (72nd in Division 1) while going 46.6% from the field.

On defense, the Spartans have forced 13.8 turnovers per game and they draw 18.3 fouls. They relinquish 28.8% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 36th in D-1 in points per game allowed (63.7). The Spartans defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 37.4% (656 of 1,753) and they surrender 33.4 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They are currently ranked 89th in college hoops in allowing assists with 355 relinquished for the year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Baylor Bears took a loss by a score of 72-67 against Oklahoma. With respect to rebounding, Baylor permitted Oklahoma to get 33 overall (4 on the offensive side). They wrapped up this game 52.4% from distance by going 11 of 21 and finished the contest at 9 of 12 from the charity stripe (75.0%). The Bears allowed Oklahoma to bury 26 of their 51 tries from the field which had them shooting 51.0% for the matchup. Overall, the Bears shot 25 out of 65 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 38.5%. Pertaining to three-point attempts, Baylor buried 3 of their 22 tries (13.6%). They were able to bury 14 of the free throws for a percentage of 87.5%. Oklahoma earned 17 personal fouls for this contest which got the Bears to the free throw line for 16 tries. They turned the ball over 6 times, while earning 12 steals in the game. The Bears were able to collect 21 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards for a total of 30 for the game.

James Akinjo was important for the Bears in the matchup. He made 6 of 16 in this game for a field goal percentage of 37.5%, and totaled 6 rebounds. He racked up 16 points in his 31 minutes on the court and tallied 2 dimes in the matchup.

Baylor has a mark of 26-6 on the year. The Bears are responsible for committing 15.8 personal fouls every game while shooting 69.8% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 15.8 times per contest (27th in college basketball) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 12.5 times per contest. Baylor has totaled 2,448 pts on the year (76.5 per contest) and they pull in 37.1 boards per game. As an offensive unit, the Bears are shooting 46.4% from the floor, which ranks 54th in the nation.

The Bears on defense are ranked 34th in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 63.6. They are forcing 15.7 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 42.5% from the floor (141st in the country). The Baylor defense concedes 29.9% on shots from distance (191 of 638) and their opponents are making 70.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They allow 13.1 assists and 32.0 rebounds per contest, which is 220th and 53rd in those defensive categories.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Baylor (-22)

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