Morgan State Bears vs BYU Cougars Prediction, 11/18/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Morgan State Bears vs BYU Cougars

Date: Saturday, November 18, 2023

Location: Marriott Center in Provo, UT

TV: BIG12|ESPN+

Marriott Center is the location where the BYU Cougars (3-0) will take on the Morgan State Bears (2-2) on Saturday.

The Morgan State Bears faced Fresno State and went home with a win by a final score of 68-60 in their last contest. When it comes to fouls, the Bears finished with 13 and Fresno State accounted for 14 fouls. They converted 4 of their 14 tries from 3-point range. Fresno State finished the contest at 80.0% at the charity stripe by knocking down 8 of 10 shots. Furthermore, Fresno State pulled down 28 rebounds (10 offensive, 18 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Fresno State distributed 10 assists and had 8 steals in this game. When it comes to defending, Morgan State let their opponent shoot 35.8% from the field on 24 of 67 shooting. They also distributed 4 assists for the game in addition to forcing 15 turnovers and earning 6 steals. With regard to hauling in rebounds, they compiled 30 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Bears buried 12 of 17 shots for a percentage of 70.6%. Morgan State ended having earned a 37.3% FG percentage (25 of 67) and converted 6 of their 18 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Amahrie Simpkins is someone who came through in the matchup. He finished with 17 points on 8 of 16 shooting. He played for 22 minutes and also grabbed 5 rebounds. He finished the contest at 50.0% from the field but had no assists at the end of the game.

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Morgan State comes into this one with a win-loss mark of 2-2 this year. They turn the ball over 17.3 times per game and as a squad they commit 17.0 personal fouls per contest. As a team, Morgan State is collecting 39.8 boards per game and has tallied 54 dimes this year, which has them ranked 57th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. The Bears are hitting 34.1% on shots from 3-point land (29 of 85) and 69.6% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 76.3 points per game (192nd in college hoops) on 45.6% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Bears are able to force 13.5 turnovers per game and they draw 14.3 fouls. They give up 38.3% from 3-point land while they are 317th in college basketball in PPG allowed (80.3). The Bears defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 44.2% (122 of 276) and they surrender 40.0 boards per contest as a unit. They are 334th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 54 conceded so far this season.

For their last game, the BYU Cougars got the victory with a final of 105-65 when they played SE Louisiana. The Cougars were able to collect 34 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive rebounds for a total of 47 in this game. They also gave up possession of the ball 5 times, while earning 7 steals for the matchup. SE Louisiana earned 18 personal fouls in this game which took the Cougars to the charity stripe for 20 attempts. They were able to knock down 16 of the free throws for a rate of 80.0%. When talking about shots from downtown, BYU buried 15 of 36 tries (41.7%). When all was said and done, the Cougars shot 37 out of 73 from the floor which had them shooting 50.7%. The Cougars permitted SE Louisiana to bury 26 of 58 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 44.8% in the matchup. They finished 27.8% from downtown by shooting 5 of 18 and ended up shooting 8 out of 13 from the free throw line (61.5%). Regarding cleaning up the glass, BYU permitted SE Louisiana to pull down 25 in all (4 offensive).

Trevin Knell ended up having an impact for the Cougars in this game. He made 7 of 12 in the game for a field goal percentage of 58.3%, and tallied 3 rebounds. He scored 18 points in his 27 minutes on the hardwood and added 3 assists in this game.

BYU has a win-loss mark of 3-0 so far this season. As an offensive team, the Cougars are shooting 47.2% from the field, which is ranked 116th in D-1. BYU has accounted for 289 pts on the year (96.3 per game) and they average 51.0 boards per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 22.7 times per contest (10th in college hoops) and they turn the ball over 9.3 times per contest. The Cougars commit 18.7 fouls every game and they go 79.6% from the free throw line.

The Cougars on the defensive end are ranked 33rd in the country in points per game surrendered with 58.7. They have forced 14.3 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 39.1% from the floor (114th in D-1). The BYU defense surrenders 19.2% from downtown (10 of 52) and their opponents are converting on 56.6% of their shots from the free throw line. They concede 8.7 dimes and 29.7 boards per game, which is ranked 41st and 41st in the nation.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take BYU

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