Charlotte 49ers vs MTSU Blue Raiders Prediction, 3/9/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Charlotte 49ers vs MTSU Blue Raiders

Date: Thursday, March 9, 2023

Location: Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, TX

TV: ESPN+

Ford Center at the Star is where the MTSU Blue Raiders (18-13) will take on the Charlotte 49ers (18-13) on Thursday.

The Charlotte 49ers stepped onto the hardwood against UAB and ended up losing by a score of 93-91 in their last contest. When talking about fouls, the 49ers ended up with 15 while UAB recorded 19 fouls. They also buried 9 of 29 tries from long range. UAB shot 80.0% at the charity stripe by knocking down 8 of 10 attempts. On top of that, UAB snagged 41 rebounds (12 offensive, 29 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. UAB doled out 10 assists and had 6 steals for this game. When talking about defense, Charlotte allowed 47.5% from the floor on 38 out of 80 shooting. They also dished out 13 assists in this game as well as forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and having 9 steals. In regard to grabbing rebounds, they earned 36 with 8 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the 49ers made 19 of 25 attempts for a percentage of 76.0%. Charlotte wrapped up the contest having earned a 45.1% FG percentage (32 of 71) and converted 8 out of their 23 shots from downtown.

Brice Williams is one guy who came through for this game. He ended up shooting 50.0% from the floor and recorded 2 dimes. He was on the court for 46 minutes played and grabbed 6 rebounds. He accounted for 32 points on 12 out of 24 shooting.

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Charlotte heads into this one with a mark of 18-13 so far this year. They have an average of 66.8 points per outing (306th in the nation) while hitting 46.8% from the floor. The 49ers are shooting 37.5% on 3-point shots (249 of 664) and 74.7% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Charlotte is grabbing 30.1 rebounds per game and has accounted for 402 assists so far this year, which ranks 200th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 10.8 times per contest and as a group are committing 14.1 fouls per contest.

On defense, the 49ers are forcing 11.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 13.6 personal fouls. They are relinquishing 34.4% on 3-pointers while they are 23rd in college hoops in PPG allowed (62.6). The 49ers are giving up a FG percentage of 43.4% (709 of 1,634) and they surrender 29.7 boards per game as a group. They rank 16th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 305 surrendered for the year.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the MTSU Blue Raiders went home defeated by a final of 77-65 when they played UTEP. When talking about attacking the glass, MTSU permitted UTEP to pull down 30 in all (8 on the offensive glass). They finished the game shooting 53.3% from three-point range by connecting on 8 out of 15 and finished the contest at 15 of 18 at the free throw line (83.3%). The Blue Raiders permitted UTEP to knock down 27 out of their 52 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 51.9% in this game. At the conclusion of this game, the Blue Raiders went 24 out of 56 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.9%. With regard to shots from beyond the arc, MTSU converted 7 of their 22 attempts (31.8%). They were able to knock down 10 of the free throw tries for a rate of 52.6%. UTEP earned 17 personal fouls for the matchup which took the Blue Raiders to the charity stripe for a total of 19 shots. They turned it over 19 times, while earning 10 steals for the game. The Blue Raiders were able to pull down 17 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive boards for a total of 29 in this matchup.

Elias King was important for the Blue Raiders in this contest. He scored 13 points in his 24 minutes on the hardwood, but left the arena with no assists. He knocked down 6 of 10 in this game for a rate of 60.0%, and tallied 4 rebounds.

MTSU has a record of 18-13 for the campaign. The Blue Raiders are committing 17.7 fouls per contest and they hit 67.7% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 11.1 times per game (328th in the country) and they lose possession via turnover 13.7 times per contest. MTSU has scored 2,182 points on the campaign (70.4 per contest) and they grab 33.7 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offense, the Blue Raiders are shooting 45.5% from the floor, which is ranked 129th in the country.

The Blue Raiders on defense are ranked 115th in college basketball in PPG surrendered with 67.8. They are able to force 15.2 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 44.4% from the floor (231st in college basketball). The MTSU defense surrenders 35.3% from downtown (200 of 567) and opponents are connecting on 75.8% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have conceded 11.0 assists and 31.9 boards per game, which is ranked 54th and 64th in college hoops.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take MTSU

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