Missouri State Bears vs St. Mary's Gaels Prediction, 12/23/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Missouri State Bears vs St. Mary's Gaels

Date: Saturday, December 23, 2023

Location: University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, CA

TV: ESPN+

The St. Mary's Gaels (7-5) are hosting the Missouri State Bears (8-4) at University Credit Union Pavilion on Saturday.

The Missouri State Bears faced Lindenwood and went home with a win by a final score of 79-57 in their last game. Concerning fouls, the Bears left the arena with 17 and Lindenwood had 18 fouls. They also buried 2 out of their 16 shots from distance. Lindenwood went 77.3% from the charity stripe by converting 17 of 22 tries. On top of that, Lindenwood pulled down 29 rebounds (7 offensive, 22 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Lindenwood doled out 2 assists and had 7 steals in this game. Regarding defending, Missouri State allowed their opponent to shoot 31.7% from the floor on 19 out of 60 shooting. They also recorded 12 dimes for this game while forcing the opposition into 11 turnovers and earning 4 steals. In reference to hauling in rebounds, they earned a total of 39 with 7 of them being of the offensive variety. From the charity stripe, the Bears converted 13 of 20 shots for a rate of 65.0%. Missouri State ended the game with a 48.3% FG percentage (29 out of 60) and buried 8 out of their 29 three-point shots.

Alston Mason is a guy who was a factor for the contest. He accumulated 34 points on 11 of 21 shooting. He saw the court for 35 mins and grabbed 5 boards. He ended up going 52.4% from the floor and earned 7 assists.

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Missouri State heads into this matchup with a mark of 8-4 for the campaign. They have an average of 74.0 pts per game (211th in the country) while shooting 44.4% from the field. The Bears are connecting on 33.1% from downtown (97 of 293) and 72.3% from the free throw line. As a team, Missouri State is pulling down 41.5 rebounds per game and has accumulated 151 dimes for the campaign, which has them ranked 201st in Division 1 in terms of passing. They turn the ball over 13.6 times per contest and as a team they commit 15.6 personal fouls per contest.

On the defensive end of the court, the Bears are forcing 9.1 turnovers every game while drawing 17.4 fouls. They are relinquishing 27.0% on shots from distance and they are ranked 106th in college hoops in points per game allowed (67.6). The Bears defense is allowing a FG percentage of 38.3% (299 of 781) and they concede 33.3 rebounds per contest as a group. They rank 83rd in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 124 surrendered so far this year.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the St. Mary's Gaels walked away with a victory by a final of 71-34 when they played MTSU. In regard to rebounding, St. Mary's permitted MTSU to collect 18 in all (4 on the offensive glass). They finished the game shooting 27.3% from distance by hitting 3 out of 11 and ended up going 7 out of 16 at the free throw line (43.8%). The Gaels permitted MTSU to convert 12 of 43 tries from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 27.9% for the contest. In all, the Gaels went 28 for 66 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 42.4%. Regarding shooting from downtown, St. Mary's converted 5 of their 20 tries (25.0%). They were able to bury 10 of them for a percentage of 83.3%. MTSU was called for 12 personal fouls in this game which took the Gaels to the charity stripe for a total of 12 tries. They also turned the ball over 9 times, while getting 9 steals for the contest. The Gaels pulled down 24 defensive boards and 16 offensive rebounds for a total of 40 in this game.

Harry Wessels ended up being a factor for the Gaels for this contest. He recorded 20 points in his 17 minutes of playing time, but wasn't able to tally an assist. He made 10 of 13 for this game giving him a rate of 76.9%, and earned 4 rebounds.

St. Mary's has a mark of 7-5 so far this season. As an offense, the Gaels are connecting on 42.4% from the field, which ranks them 280th in Division 1. St. Mary's has totaled 833 pts this season (69.4 per contest) and they average 43.4 boards per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 13.7 times per contest (177th in the country) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.7 times per contest. The Gaels commit 18.0 fouls per contest while shooting 62.2% from the free throw line.

The St. Mary's defense allows 29.5% on 3-pointers (56 of 190) and their opposition makes 67.6% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have conceded 9.4 dimes and 30.7 boards per game, which ranks them 14th and 23rd in those categories on the defensive end. The Gaels on the defensive side of the court are 5th in college basketball in PPG given up with 58.9. They have forced 11.9 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 37.8% from the floor (16th in college basketball).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Missouri State

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