Morgan State Bears vs Virginia Cavaliers Prediction, 12/27/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Morgan State Bears vs Virginia Cavaliers

Date: Wednesday, December 27, 2023

Location: John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Morgan State (+28)

The Morgan State Bears (4-10) are on their way to John Paul Jones Arena on Wednesday where they will play the Virginia Cavaliers (9-2). Virginia opens this contest as 28-point favorites from Vegas oddsmakers. The over/under has been set at 132.5.

The Morgan State Bears played James Madison and took a loss by a final of 89-75 in their last contest. In reference to fouls, the Bears ended up with 19 and James Madison racked up 15 fouls. They converted 9 of their 30 attempts from three-point range. James Madison finished the game shooting 75.9% from the free throw line by burying 22 of 29 shots. Furthermore, James Madison collected 35 rebounds (9 offensive, 26 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. James Madison doled out 14 dimes and had 6 steals in this matchup. When it comes to defending, Morgan State allowed the other team to go 44.6% from the field on 29 out of 65 shooting. They also distributed 13 assists for the game in addition to forcing 9 turnovers and having 4 steals. Regarding hauling in boards, they earned 29 with 6 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Bears knocked down 10 of their 12 attempts for a percentage of 83.3%. Morgan State walked away from the contest with a 47.7% field goal percentage (31 of 65) and buried 3 of their 14 shots from distance.

Will Thomas is someone who was important for the game. He shot 46.7% from the field and also totaled 3 assists. He saw the court for 37 minutes played and also totaled 5 rebounds. He was able to score 20 points on 7 of 15 shooting.

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Morgan State will take the court with a record of 4-10 so far this season. They average 74.6 pts per game (195th in Division 1) while going 46.2% from the floor. The Bears are connecting on 31.9% on 3-point shots (79 of 248) and 71.1% from the charity stripe. As a team, Morgan State is snagging 37.0 rebounds per game and is sitting with 186 dimes on the campaign, which has them ranked 97th in the nation in terms of passing. They turn it over 14.0 times per game and as a group they are committing 18.2 fouls per contest.

On the defensive end, the Bears are forcing their opponents into 12.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 14.5 personal fouls. They rank 320th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 188 relinquished for the year. The Bears defense is giving up a FG percentage of 45.1% (400 of 886) and they surrender 38.1 rebounds per game as a team. They give up 34.7% on 3-pointers and they are 340th in college basketball in opponents points per game (79.6).

When they last stepped on the court, the Virginia Cavaliers took a loss by a final score of 77-54 when they faced Memphis. With respect to how they rebounded, Virginia permitted Memphis to get 29 in total (5 on the offensive glass). They finished 39.1% from three-point range by connecting on 9 out of 23 and ended up going 14 out of 17 at the charity stripe (82.4%). The Cavaliers permitted Memphis to convert 26 out of their 56 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 46.4% in the matchup. When the final whistle was blown, the Cavaliers shot 22 for 56 from the field which gave them a rate of 39.3%. When discussing shots from 3-point land, Virginia buried 4 of 19 tries (21.1%). They were able to knock down 6 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 60.0%. Memphis earned 14 fouls in this matchup which got the Cavaliers to the free throw line for a total of 10 tries. They turned it over 17 times, while recording 8 steals in this contest. The Cavaliers pulled down 20 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 30 in the game.

Reece Beekman ended up having an impact for the Cavaliers for this game. He knocked down 5 out of 8 in this contest for a rate of 62.5%, and had 5 rebounds. He recorded 13 points in his 33 mins on the hardwood and tallied 4 assists for this game.

Virginia has a win-loss mark of 9-2 so far this year. The Cavaliers are committing 13.7 fouls per game and they shoot 66.7% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 15.5 times per contest (83rd in college basketball) and they turn the ball over 8.9 times per game. Virginia has tallied 722 pts on the campaign (65.6 per contest) and they collect 32.5 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Cavaliers are hitting on 45.4% from the floor, which has them ranked 161st in D-1.

The Cavaliers on the defensive end are ranked 3rd in college basketball in PPG allowed with 55.5. They are able to force 14.2 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 36.9% from the field (7th in college hoops). The Virginia defense gives up 27.4% on 3-point attempts (63 of 230) and opponents are making 70.4% of their foul shots. They concede 11.1 dimes and 35.2 total rebounds per game, which has them ranked 70th and 198th in those categories.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Morgan State (+28)

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