DePaul Blue Demons vs Xavier Musketeers Prediction, 3/9/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: DePaul Blue Demons vs Xavier Musketeers

Date: Thursday, March 9, 2023

Location: Madison Square Garden in New York, NY

TV: FS1

Odds/Point Spread: DePaul (+13)

The DePaul Blue Demons (9-22) are en route to Madison Square Garden on Thursday where they will go up against the Xavier Musketeers (23-8). DePaul opens this game as 13-point dogs. The over/under is set at 156.

The DePaul Blue Demons faced Creighton and took a loss by a score of 84-70 in their last contest. DePaul ended the contest with a 40.3% field goal percentage (27 out of 67) and converted 6 of 17 3-pointers. When they shot from the free throw line, the Blue Demons converted 10 of their 15 attempts for a rate of 66.7%. In terms of pulling down rebounds, they compiled 27 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 15 assists in this matchup in addition to forcing the opposition into 16 turnovers and getting 9 steals. With respect to defending, DePaul allowed their opponent to shoot 50.8% from the field on 31 out of 61 shooting. Creighton distributed 11 assists and had 8 steals in this game. Additionally, Creighton snagged 41 rebounds (12 offensive, 29 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Creighton finished the game at 82.4% at the free throw line by knocking down 14 of 17 tries. They converted 8 of 21 shots from 3-point land. With respect to fouls, the Blue Demons walked away with 17 and Creighton recorded 16 fouls.

Javan Johnson is a player who played a role for the game. He walked away with 18 points on 7 out of 13 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 39 mins and pulled down 3 boards. He finished 53.8% from the floor and recorded 5 assists.

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DePaul comes into this matchup with a mark of 9-22 this year. They are turning it over 12.9 times per contest and as a group are committing 18.2 fouls per contest. As a team, DePaul is pulling in 32.8 rebounds per game and has racked up 430 assists on the season, which has them ranked 137th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Blue Demons are hitting 36.1% on three-point shots (255 of 706) and 73.8% from the free throw line. They are averaging 70.9 pts per contest (194th in D-1) while hitting 42.1% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Blue Demons are able to force 12.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 16.6 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 294th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 448 surrendered for the campaign. The Blue Demons are giving up a shooting percentage of 45.3% (848 of 1,873) and they surrender 39.1 boards per contest as a squad. They are conceding 34.9% on shots from beyond the arc and they are ranked 345th in Division 1 in PPG allowed (77.3).

The last time they took the court, the Xavier Musketeers went home victorious with a score of 78-66 when they faced Butler. The Musketeers earned 25 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards totaling 36 for this game. They also coughed it up 12 times, while getting 5 steals in the matchup. Butler committed 19 personal fouls in this game which got the Musketeers to the free throw line for a total of 27 tries. They were able to convert 18 of the free throw tries for a rate of 66.7%. Regarding shots from beyond the arc, Xavier knocked down 4 of 12 tries (33.3%). In all, the Musketeers ended up shooting 28 out of 52 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 53.8%. The Musketeers permitted Butler to knock down 25 of 55 attempts from the floor which left them shooting 45.5% in the game. They went 18.8% from distance by going 3 out of 16 and walked away from this one shooting 13 of 15 from the free throw line (86.7%). Regarding how they attacked the glass, Xavier permitted Butler to pull down 17 in all (3 offensive).

Colby Jones ended up being a factor for the Musketeers for the matchup. He accumulated 20 points in his 39 minutes on the hardwood and added 4 assists in the matchup. He made 8 out of 10 for the matchup giving him a rate of 80.0%, and accounted for 8 rebounds.

Xavier has a record of 23-8 so far this year. On the offensive side of the court, the Musketeers are connecting on 50.0% from the field, which has them ranked 3rd in the country. Xavier has totaled 2,546 pts so far this year (82.1 per game) and they collect 37.5 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 19.9 times per game (1st in Division 1) and they are losing possession via turnover 12.8 times per contest. The Musketeers are responsible for committing 16.2 fouls every game and they shoot 71.7% from the charity stripe.

The Musketeers on defense are ranked 306th in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 74.5. They are forcing 12.1 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 44.3% from the floor (222nd in D-1). The Xavier defense surrenders 36.1% on 3-point shots (234 of 648) and opponents are knocking down 71.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They have allowed 15.1 dimes and 31.9 rebounds per contest, which has them ranked 335th and 64th in D-1.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take DePaul (+13)

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