Boise State Broncos vs Northwestern Wildcats Prediction, 3/16/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Boise State Broncos vs Northwestern Wildcats

Date: Thursday, March 16, 2023

Location: Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, CA

TV: truTV

Odds/Point Spread: Boise State (-2)

The Northwestern Wildcats (21-11) will try to beat the Boise State Broncos (24-9) at Golden 1 Center on Thursday. Boise State opens this game as -2-point favorites. The total is set at 128.5.

The Boise State Broncos played Utah State and took a loss by a score of 72-62 in their last game. Concerning fouls, the Broncos finished with 21 and Utah State accumulated 20 fouls. They also made 9 of 29 attempts from 3-point range. Utah State walked away from this one shooting 80.8% at the charity stripe by burying 21 of 26 shots. Moreover, Utah State pulled down 37 boards (6 offensive, 31 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Utah State distributed 14 assists and had 1 steal for the matchup. When talking about defense, Boise State allowed 40.4% from the field on 21 out of 52 shooting. They also recorded 8 assists in this game in addition to forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and earning 8 steals. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 28 with 4 of them being on the offensive end. From the charity stripe, the Broncos knocked down 14 of 22 attempts for a percentage of 63.6%. Boise State walked away from the contest with a 40.0% field goal percentage (22 out of 55) and made 4 out of their 14 shots from beyond the arc.

Tyson Degenhart is one player who played a role in this matchup. He ended up walking away with 13 points on 5 of 6 shooting. He played 32 minutes played and pulled down 4 rebounds. He finished the game at 83.3% from the field but didn't record an assist.

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Boise State comes into this game with a mark of 24-9 this season. They are losing possession via turnover 11.2 times per game and as a team are committing 16.3 fouls per contest. As a unit, Boise State is pulling in 35.6 rebounds per game and has racked up 370 assists on the campaign, which is 294th in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Broncos are hitting 36.5% on shots from 3-point land (259 of 710) and 73.5% from the free throw line. They are averaging 72.2 pts per contest (166th in D-1) while connecting on 45.5% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Broncos are able to force 11.9 turnovers every game and they draw 16.8 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 51st in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 355 conceded on the year. The Broncos defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 41.3% (776 of 1,880) and they relinquish 32.2 rebounds per contest as a team. They give up 30.9% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 35th in D-1 in opponents PPG (64.3).

When they last stepped on the court, the Northwestern Wildcats walked away with a victory by a final of 65-53 when they faced Rutgers. When talking about rebounds, Northwestern allowed Rutgers to collect 30 in total (9 on the offensive side). They shot 11.8% from distance by going 2 of 17 and walked away from this one shooting 11 of 21 at the free throw line (52.4%). The Wildcats allowed Rutgers to knock down 20 out of 55 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 36.4% for this game. When the final whistle blew, the Wildcats went 24 for 53 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.3%. In terms of 3-point shots, Northwestern made 7 out of 23 attempts (30.4%). They were able to bury 10 of those for a percentage of 58.8%. Rutgers had 19 fouls for this contest which got the Wildcats to the charity stripe for 17 attempts. They turned the ball over 16 times, while recording 10 steals in this matchup. The Wildcats were able to collect 28 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards for a total of 39 for this contest.

Brooks Barnhizer was important for the Wildcats in this matchup. He converted 7 of 12 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 58.3%, and had 10 rebounds. He had 16 points in his 33 mins on the court and accounted for 2 dimes for the contest.

Northwestern has a mark of 21-11 for the year. The Wildcats are responsible for committing 16.2 personal fouls per contest and they connect on 75.1% from the charity stripe. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 12.9 times per contest (191st in college basketball) and they are turning it over 9.8 times per game. Northwestern has totaled 2,165 pts for the year (67.7 per contest) and they average 34.6 rebounds per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Wildcats are connecting on 40.6% from the floor, which is ranked 344th in the country.

The Northwestern defense gives up 33.9% on shots from beyond the arc (243 of 717) and their opponents are knocking down 67.7% of their free throw shots. They have relinquished 13.3 assists and 35.1 boards per game, which has them ranked 223rd and 249th in college basketball. The Wildcats on the defensive side of the court are 19th in college basketball in points allowed per contest with 62.5. They are forcing 14.3 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 41.2% from the floor (42nd in college basketball).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Boise State (-2)

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