Bellarmine Knights vs BYU Cougars Prediction, 12/22/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Bellarmine Knights vs BYU Cougars

Date: Friday, December 22, 2023

Location: Marriott Center in Provo, UT

TV: BIG12|ESPN+

The BYU Cougars (10-1) will take on the Bellarmine Knights (4-9) at Marriott Center on Friday.

The Bellarmine Knights faced Utah and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 85-43 in their last game. Bellarmine finished the contest having earned a 32.7% field goal percentage (18 of 55) and made 5 out of their 17 3-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Knights converted 2 of their 4 tries for a percentage of 50.0%. Concerning rebounding, they earned 29 with 5 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 8 assists for the matchup while forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and having 4 steals. With regard to defense, Bellarmine let their opponent shoot 50.0% from the field on 35 of 70 shooting. Utah recorded 17 dimes and had 14 steals for this contest. Moreover, Utah snagged 41 boards (9 offensive, 32 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Utah walked away from this one shooting 66.7% at the free throw line by knocking down 4 of 6 shots. They converted 11 out of their 27 attempts from beyond the perimeter. In regard to personal fouls, the Knights ended up finishing with 10 while Utah finished the game with 8 personal fouls.

Billy Smith is one guy who was a factor for the contest. He finished 54.5% from the floor and recorded 3 dimes. He was on the hardwood for 31 mins played and also pulled down 2 boards. He recorded 14 points on 6 of 11 shooting.

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Bellarmine enters this contest with a win-loss record of 4-9 on the campaign. They currently have an average of 67.9 pts per game (306th in the country) while hitting 41.7% from the field. The Knights are shooting 32.6% on shots from 3-point land (99 of 304) and 80.7% from the free throw line. As a unit, Bellarmine is collecting 34.5 boards per game and has accounted for 188 dimes on the season, which is 57th in college basketball in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 11.2 times per contest and as a group they are committing 15.0 fouls every game.

On defense, the Knights are forcing 12.2 turnovers per contest and they draw 13.7 personal fouls. They rank 299th in college basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 167 surrendered for the season. The Knights are giving up a field goal percentage of 43.3% (332 of 766) and they relinquish 36.5 rebounds per game as a squad. They give up 33.1% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 147th in the nation in PPG allowed (69.5).

The last time they took the hardwood, the BYU Cougars got the win with a final of 86-54 against Georgia State. With respect to rebounding, BYU permitted Georgia State to snag 31 in all (6 offensive). They finished 28.6% from beyond the arc via 6 out of 21 and ended up shooting 8 out of 8 from the free throw line (100.0%). The Cougars allowed Georgia State to convert 20 out of 54 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 37.0% in this matchup. In all, the Cougars went 32 for 70 from the floor which had them shooting 45.7%. Pertaining to three-point shots, BYU knocked down 15 of their 38 attempts (39.5%). They were able to convert 7 of them for a percentage of 63.6%. Georgia State was called for 15 personal fouls for the contest which got the Cougars to the free throw line for 11 attempts. They gave up possession of the ball 4 times, while getting 9 steals for the game. The Cougars snagged 28 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 38 in this contest.

Richie Saunders ended up having an impact for the Cougars for the contest. He knocked down 8 out of 14 for the game for a rate of 57.1%, and had 6 rebounds. He racked up 20 points in his 24 mins of playing time, but wasn't able to tally an assist.

BYU has a win-loss record of 10-1 on the year. As an offensive unit, the Cougars are hitting on 47.9% from the floor, which is 55th in the nation. BYU has accounted for 980 points for the season (89.1 per game) and they grab 44.5 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 21.5 times per contest (2nd in D-1) and they are losing possession via turnover 9.9 times per contest. The Cougars are responsible for committing 16.5 personal fouls every game and they go 73.1% from the charity stripe.

The Cougars are ranked 14th in college basketball in PPG given up with 61.2. They have forced 13.3 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 40.0% from the field (58th in college basketball). The BYU defense allows 23.9% on 3-pointers (53 of 222) and opponents are connecting on 64.9% of their free throw attempts. They relinquish 11.1 dimes and 31.7 boards on a nightly basis, ranking them 73rd and 46th in those defensive categories.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Bellarmine

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