Southern Utah Thunderbirds vs Colorado Buffaloes Prediction, 12/21/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Southern Utah Thunderbirds vs Colorado Buffaloes

Date: Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Location: CU Events Center in Boulder, CO

TV: Youtube TV

CU Events Center is where the Colorado Buffaloes (7-5) will take on the Southern Utah Thunderbirds (8-4) on Wednesday.

The Southern Utah Thunderbirds stepped onto the hardwood against Northern Arizona and took home the win by a score of 106-101 in their last contest. With respect to fouls, the Thunderbirds ended up finishing with 20 and Northern Arizona recorded 30 fouls. They also made 10 out of their 32 attempts from distance. Northern Arizona shot 61.9% at the charity stripe by burying 13 of their 21 shots. Furthermore, Northern Arizona pulled down 36 rebounds (11 offensive, 25 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Northern Arizona recorded 19 assists and had 10 steals in this matchup. In regard to the defense, Southern Utah allowed the other team to go 48.1% from the field on 39 out of 81 shooting. They also distributed 8 assists for this game in addition to forcing the other team into 11 turnovers and earning 10 steals. In relation to getting rebounds, they collected a total of 34 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Thunderbirds knocked down 42 of 51 shots for a percentage of 82.4%. Southern Utah wrapped up the contest with a 50.0% field goal percentage (29 out of 58) and buried 6 of 22 shots from downtown.

Tevian Jones is one guy who was a contributor in this matchup. He ended up going 50.0% from the floor and distributed 2 assists. He played 43 minutes and pulled down 4 rebounds. He ended up scoring 31 points on 7 of 14 shooting.

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Southern Utah comes into this matchup with a mark of 8-4 so far this season. They currently have an average of 91.0 pts per contest (2nd in college hoops) while shooting 48.2% from the field. The Thunderbirds are shooting 31.1% on shots from beyond the arc (96 of 309) and 73.3% from the charity stripe. As a team, Southern Utah is collecting 42.3 rebounds per game and is sitting with 178 dimes this year, which is 85th in college hoops in terms of passing the rock. They turn it over 13.2 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 18.5 fouls per contest.

On defense, the Thunderbirds are able to force 17.9 turnovers per game while drawing 21.8 personal fouls. They concede 34.1% on 3-point shots and they are 255th in the country in points per game from their opponents (71.8). The Thunderbirds defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 42.5% (313 of 736) and they surrender 34.6 boards per game as a group. They are 230th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 151 relinquished on the season.

The last time they took the court, the Colorado Buffaloes walked away with a victory by a final of 88-77 against Northern Colorado. When discussing how they cleaned up the glass, Colorado allowed Northern Colorado to get 24 in all (3 on the offensive side). They went 47.4% from beyond the arc by shooting 9 out of 19 and ended up shooting 8 of 12 at the free throw line (66.7%). The Buffaloes permitted Northern Colorado to knock down 30 out of 64 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 46.9% in this matchup. When all was said and done, the Buffaloes ended up shooting 35 out of 62 from the floor which gave them a rate of 56.5%. In regard to shots from downtown, Colorado converted 8 of 15 tries (53.3%). They were able to knock down 10 of the free throws for a clip of 66.7%. Northern Colorado was called for 15 fouls in this game which took the Buffaloes to the free throw line for 15 tries. They also gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while recording 4 steals for the contest. The Buffaloes corralled 28 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 36 for this game.

Tristan Da Silva ended up being a factor for the Buffaloes in the matchup. He had 26 points in his 36 minutes on the hardwood and accounted for 1 assist for the game. He made 10 out of 15 in the matchup for a rate of 66.7%, and had 8 rebounds.

Colorado has a win-loss record of 7-5 for the season. The Buffaloes have committed 17.1 fouls per contest while shooting 64.7% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 14.3 times per contest (137th in the nation) and they turn it over 13.8 times per contest. Colorado has earned 907 pts so far this season (75.6 per contest) and they grab 39.7 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Buffaloes are shooting 45.6% from the field, which ranks 140th in the country.

The Colorado defense allows 32.8% on 3-point shots (81 of 247) and their opponents are connecting on 67.6% of their shots from the charity stripe. They relinquish 10.7 dimes and 33.5 rebounds per contest, which is 57th and 143rd in Division 1. The Buffaloes defensively are ranked 180th in D-1 in points given up per game with 68.4. They are forcing 13.8 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 41.7% from the floor (135th in D-1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Colorado

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