Iona Gaels vs Saint Joseph's Hawks Prediction, 12/16/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Iona Gaels vs Saint Joseph's Hawks

Date: Saturday, December 16, 2023

Location: UBS Arena in Elmont, NY

TV: ESPN+

The Saint Joseph's Hawks (8-2) are hosting the Iona Gaels (4-6) at UBS Arena on Saturday.

The Iona Gaels faced Saint Francis and walked away with a win by a score of 61-54 in their last contest. Iona walked away from the game with a 34.5% FG percentage (19 out of 55) and converted 5 out of their 20 shots from 3-point land. From the free throw line, the Gaels converted 18 of 25 shots for a percentage of 72.0%. With regard to grabbing rebounds, they earned 33 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 14 assists for the game as well as forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and getting 9 steals. Regarding defense, Iona allowed the other team to shoot 30.9% from the floor on 17 out of 55 shooting. Saint Francis doled out 12 dimes and had 8 steals in the matchup. Additionally, Saint Francis pulled down 40 rebounds (12 offensive, 28 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Saint Francis ended up going 66.7% when shooting free throws by knocking down 16 of 24 attempts. They also converted 4 of 23 attempts from beyond the perimeter. Regarding personal fouls, the Gaels ended up with 20 and Saint Francis accounted for 18 personal fouls.

Jean Aranguren is one guy who was a factor for the contest. He accounted for 20 points on 7 of 9 shooting. He played for 23 minutes and totaled 4 boards. He finished the contest at 77.8% from the field and also dished out 1 assist.

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Iona heads into this game with a win-loss mark of 4-6 for the year. They turn it over 12.3 times per game and as a team are committing 20.0 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Iona is snagging 34.2 boards per contest and has totaled 134 dimes for the year, which is 185th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Gaels are connecting on 36.1% on shots from 3-point land (83 of 230) and 66.2% from the free throw line. They average 71.8 points per game (251st in the nation) while shooting 42.8% from the field.

On defense, the Gaels are able to force 15.3 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.5 fouls. They are ranked 216th in the nation in allowing assists with 129 relinquished so far this season. The Gaels are allowing a field goal percentage of 44.4% (240 of 540) and they surrender 37.2 boards per contest as a unit. They are surrendering 32.0% from beyond the arc while they are 198th in D-1 in points per game allowed (71.4).

The last time they took the court, the Saint Joseph's Hawks got the victory with a final of 74-70 when they played Princeton. The Hawks were able to snag 17 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds totaling 28 for the contest. They also coughed up the ball 8 times, while earning 8 steals for the game. Princeton had 16 personal fouls for the game which took the Hawks to the free throw line for 16 tries. They were able to knock down 13 of the free throws for a rate of 81.3%. When talking about shots from 3-point land, Saint Joseph's converted 7 out of 26 tries (26.9%). When this game wrapped up, the Hawks finished 27 out of 59 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.8%. The Hawks permitted Princeton to make 26 of their 55 attempts from the field which left them with a rate of 47.3% for the matchup. They shot 42.1% from 3-point land by going 16 out of 38 and walked away from this one shooting 2 of 6 at the free throw line (33.3%). In the matter of cleaning up the glass, Saint Joseph's allowed Princeton to grab 27 overall (10 on the offensive glass).

Erik Reynolds II ended up being a major contributor for the Hawks for this contest. He made 6 out of 15 for the game giving him a field goal percentage of 40.0%, and had 2 rebounds. He earned 21 points in his 38 mins on the court and accounted for 2 dimes in the matchup.

Saint Joseph's has a record of 8-2 on the year. The Hawks commit 15.5 fouls every game and they connect on 72.3% from the charity stripe. Their rate of earning assists is at 16.6 times per game (41st in the nation) and they are turning it over 11.9 times per game. Saint Joseph's has totaled 751 pts for the season (75.1 per game) and they average 37.2 rebounds per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Hawks are connecting on 45.2% from the floor, which ranks them 162nd in the nation.

The Saint Joseph's defense allows 29.7% on 3-point attempts (83 of 279) and their opposition makes 63.0% of their free throw attempts. They concede 12.4 dimes and 34.7 total boards per game, which has them ranked 164th and 178th in those defensive categories. The Hawks defensively are ranked 35th in D-1 in PPG given up with 63.8. They are forcing their opponents into 13.4 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 38.3% from the field (21st in the country).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Saint Joseph's

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