Niagara Purple Eagles vs Buffalo Bulls Prediction, 12/29/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

12/28/2023

Game: Niagara Purple Eagles vs Buffalo Bulls

Date: Friday, December 29, 2023

Location: Alumni Arena in Buffalo, NY

TV: ESPN+

Alumni Arena is the site where the Buffalo Bulls (1-10) will play the Niagara Purple Eagles (3-8) on Friday.

The Niagara Purple Eagles faced off with Syracuse and went home with a loss by a final score of 83-71 in their last game. Niagara finished the contest having earned a 41.0% field goal percentage (25 out of 61) and knocked down 7 out of their 19 three-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Purple Eagles buried 14 of 15 shots for a rate of 93.3%. Concerning getting rebounds, they collected a total of 34 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 11 assists in this matchup as well as creating 8 turnovers and having 6 steals. In reference to the defense, Niagara allowed 48.5% from the field on 33 out of 68 shooting. Syracuse distributed 22 dimes and had 8 steals for the contest. In addition, Syracuse snagged 35 rebounds (7 offensive, 28 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Syracuse finished the game shooting 69.2% from the free throw line by converting 9 of their 13 attempts. They made 8 of their 22 attempts from beyond the perimeter. When talking about fouls, the Purple Eagles ended up finishing with 7 and Syracuse totaled 16 fouls.

Luke Bumbalough is a guy who came through in the game. He finished 50.0% from the field and totaled 1 assist. He played 35 minutes and also grabbed 3 boards. He walked away with 26 points on 8 out of 16 shooting.

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Niagara comes into this one with a win-loss record of 3-8 so far this season. They currently have an average of 73.3 points per game (226th in D-1) while connecting on 46.2% from the floor. The Purple Eagles are connecting on 37.8% from downtown (73 of 193) and 76.3% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Niagara is collecting 29.4 boards per game and has accounted for 141 dimes this season, which is 288th in college basketball in terms of passing the rock. They are losing possession via turnover 10.8 times per contest and as a squad are committing 15.2 fouls per game.

On the defensive end of the court, the Purple Eagles are able to force 10.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.9 personal fouls. They are 63rd in Division 1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 130 conceded on the campaign. The Purple Eagles defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 48.2% (316 of 656) and they surrender 31.8 rebounds per game as a group. They are surrendering 37.2% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 299th in college basketball in opponents PPG (76.3).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Buffalo Bulls walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 72-66 when they faced Richmond. The Bulls collected 28 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 36 for the game. They also coughed up the ball 6 times, while getting 2 steals for this game. Richmond committed 10 fouls for this game which got the Bulls to the charity stripe for a total of 12 tries. They were able to bury 7 of those for a rate of 58.3%. In the matter of shots from downtown, Buffalo converted 7 of 37 attempts (18.9%). Overall, the Bulls shot 26 out of 72 from the field which had them shooting 36.1%. The Bulls allowed Richmond to make 27 of their 59 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.8% in this contest. They went 26.3% from distance by going 5 of 19 and ended up shooting 13 of 18 from the charity stripe (72.2%). When talking about attacking the glass, Buffalo permitted Richmond to grab 43 in all (4 offensive).

Sy Chatman ended up being a major contributor for the Bulls for this contest. He converted 8 out of 18 in this matchup giving him a rate of 44.4%, and accumulated 5 rebounds. He tallied 21 points in his 29 minutes on the court and had 2 dimes in this matchup.

Buffalo has a mark of 1-10 this season. The Bulls have committed 15.3 personal fouls per contest while shooting 70.6% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 11.9 times per game (297th in college basketball) and they are turning it over 16.5 times per contest. Buffalo has accounted for 744 points for the campaign (67.6 per game) and they pull in 37.4 rebounds per game. As an offensive unit, the Bulls are connecting on 40.5% from the floor, which has them ranked 330th in the country.

The Bulls on the defensive end are ranked 349th in the nation in PPG surrendered with 81.0. They are able to force 10.9 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 48.8% from the field (355th in college basketball). The Buffalo defense gives up 36.3% on three-point shots (94 of 259) and opponents are converting on 65.5% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 16.9 dimes and 35.4 rebounds every game, which has them ranked 355th and 206th in college hoops.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Buffalo

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