Butler Bulldogs vs Xavier Musketeers Prediction, 3/4/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Butler Bulldogs vs Xavier Musketeers

Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023

Location: Cintas Center in Cincinnati, OH

TV: ESPN+

The Butler Bulldogs (14-16) are traveling to Cintas Center on Saturday where they will meet the Xavier Musketeers (22-8).

The Butler Bulldogs took the court against Marquette and ended up losing by a score of 72-56 in their last contest. When talking about personal fouls, the Bulldogs ended up finishing with 6 while Marquette totaled 14 personal fouls. They converted 7 of their 20 shots from long range. Marquette went 100.0% when shooting free throws by knocking down 5 of their 5 shots. Moreover, Marquette pulled down 27 rebounds (6 offensive, 21 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Marquette doled out 20 dimes and had 8 steals in this game. With regard to defending, Butler allowed the other team to shoot 55.6% from the floor on 30 of 54 shooting. They also dished out 10 assists for this game while forcing the opposition into 13 turnovers and earning 6 steals. In relation to grabbing rebounds, they collected 23 with 7 of them being of the offensive variety. From the free throw line, the Bulldogs knocked down 10 of 14 tries for a percentage of 71.4%. Butler walked away from the game having earned a 39.2% field goal percentage (20 out of 51) and buried 6 of their 19 three-point shots.

Jayden Taylor is one guy who played a role for this game. He racked up 13 points on 5 out of 12 shooting. He played for 35 mins played and snagged 2 boards. He ended up going 41.7% from the field and also totaled 1 assist.

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Butler heads into this one with a record of 14-16 for the campaign. They average 65.3 pts per contest (329th in Division 1) while going 43.8% from the field. The Bulldogs are shooting 33.4% on three-point shots (197 of 590) and 73.2% from the free throw line. As a team, Butler is collecting 30.3 rebounds per game and has accumulated 373 assists on the campaign, which is 237th in college hoops in terms of passing. They are giving up possession 11.9 times per contest and as a team are committing 13.2 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Bulldogs are forcing 12.5 turnovers per contest and they draw 14.2 fouls. They are surrendering 32.1% from 3-point land while they are 98th in the nation in points per game allowed (67.3). The Bulldogs defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 44.5% (780 of 1,753) and they concede 35.7 rebounds per game as a team. They currently rank 247th in college basketball in allowing assists with 411 conceded this year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Xavier Musketeers got the victory with a final of 94-89 against Providence. The Musketeers earned 27 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards for a total of 34 in this game. They also gave up possession of the ball 8 times, while getting 2 steals in this game. Providence earned 17 fouls in this matchup which took the Musketeers to the charity stripe for a total of 20 shots. They were able to make 16 of them for a rate of 80.0%. In regard to shots from downtown, Xavier converted 10 out of their 20 tries (50.0%). In all, the Musketeers finished the game shooting 34 out of 61 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 55.7%. The Musketeers permitted Providence to make 26 out of their 64 attempts from the floor which had them sitting at 40.6% in this matchup. They shot 50.0% from 3-point land by connecting on 11 of 22 and finished the contest at 26 of 34 from the charity stripe (76.5%). When talking about rebounding, Xavier allowed Providence to get 34 in total (12 on the offensive glass).

Souley Boum ended up having an impact for the Musketeers in this game. He made 11 out of 19 in this game giving him a rate of 57.9%, and earned 7 rebounds. He totaled 33 points in his 39 minutes on the hardwood and had 4 dimes for this contest.

Xavier has a mark of 22-8 for the campaign. When it comes to offensive execution, the Musketeers are connecting on 49.9% from the floor, which ranks 4th in D-1. Xavier has accounted for 2,468 points for the campaign (82.3 per contest) and they average 37.5 rebounds per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 20.0 times per contest (1st in college basketball) and they lose possession via turnover 12.9 times per contest. The Musketeers are committing 16.2 fouls every game while shooting 72.0% from the free throw line.

The Musketeers on the defensive side of the court are 312th in D-1 in points allowed per game with 74.8. They are forcing their opponents into 12.1 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 44.2% from the field (223rd in college basketball). The Xavier defense surrenders 36.6% on shots from behind the 3-point line (231 of 632) and their opposition knocks down 70.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They allow 15.0 assists and 32.3 rebounds per game, which is 337th and 75th in D-1.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Xavier

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