NJIT Highlanders vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons Prediction, 12/9/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: NJIT Highlanders vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Date: Saturday, December 9, 2023

Location: Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, NC

TV: ESPN

Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum is where the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (5-3) will meet the NJIT Highlanders (2-6) on Saturday.

The NJIT Highlanders played Fordham and went home with a win by a final score of 80-77 in their last contest. NJIT ended the contest with a 45.5% FG percentage (25 of 55) and knocked down 12 out of their 25 3-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Highlanders converted 18 of their 25 shots for a percentage of 72.0%. Pertaining to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 25 with 4 of them being offensive. They also recorded 12 assists for the contest while forcing 10 turnovers and earning 5 steals. When it comes to defense, NJIT allowed their opponent to shoot 48.2% from the floor on 27 out of 56 shooting. Fordham dished out 16 dimes and had 6 steals for this contest. Furthermore, Fordham totaled 35 rebounds (12 offensive, 23 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Fordham finished the game shooting 54.8% at the free throw line by knocking down 17 of 31 attempts. They buried 6 out of their 18 tries from downtown. In relation to fouls, the Highlanders ended up finishing with 23 and Fordham totaled 23 fouls.

Mekhi Gray is one player who was a contributor for the matchup. He walked away from this one shooting 38.5% from the field and recorded 1 assist. He was on the hardwood for 37 mins and collected 2 boards. He left the arena with 21 points on 5 of 13 shooting.

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NJIT heads into this matchup with a win-loss record of 2-6 on the season. They currently have an average of 66.1 points per outing (327th in Division 1) while going 39.3% from the field. The Highlanders are connecting on 34.0% on shots from beyond the arc (65 of 191) and 69.4% from the charity stripe. As a unit, NJIT is collecting 32.9 rebounds per game and is sitting with 87 dimes on the campaign, which ranks 324th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They are giving up possession 13.9 times per contest and as a squad are committing 21.9 fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Highlanders are able to force 11.3 turnovers per game while drawing 19.1 personal fouls. They surrender 38.7% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 329th in college hoops in opponents points per game (79.1). The Highlanders defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 44.6% (213 of 478) and they relinquish 41.4 boards per game as a group. They are 254th in the country in giving up assists to their opponents with 119 surrendered for the campaign.

In their last game, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons went home victorious with a score of 76-57 against Rutgers. The Demon Deacons were able to collect 26 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 37 in the game. They coughed up the ball 10 times, while earning 5 steals in the matchup. Rutgers was called for 18 personal fouls for the contest which got the Demon Deacons to the free throw line for a total of 19 attempts. They were able to bury 14 of those for a percentage of 73.7%. In the matter of shooting from 3-point land, Wake Forest made 8 of their 26 tries (30.8%). When the game finished, the Demon Deacons shot 27 out of 63 from the floor which had them shooting 42.9%. The Demon Deacons allowed Rutgers to bury 21 of their 56 tries from the floor which had them shooting 37.5% in the game. They finished shooting 31.8% from beyond the perimeter by going 7 of 22 and walked away from this one shooting 8 out of 11 at the free throw line (72.7%). Concerning how they rebounded, Wake Forest allowed Rutgers to get 25 in all (8 on the offensive side).

Kevin Miller ended up being a factor for the Demon Deacons for the contest. He totaled 23 points in his 33 mins on the court and had 4 assists in this game. He buried 7 of 14 for this game giving him a rate of 50.0%, and added 5 rebounds.

Wake Forest has a record of 5-3 so far this year. The Demon Deacons are responsible for committing 14.9 fouls every game and they connect on 79.0% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 11.9 times per contest (276th in college basketball) and they are turning it over 11.0 times per game. Wake Forest has tallied 628 pts this year (78.5 per game) and they snag 34.8 boards per game. As an offense, the Demon Deacons are hitting on 46.8% from the floor, which is ranked 97th in the country.

The Wake Forest defense surrenders 33.5% on three-point shots (54 of 161) and opponents are making 71.8% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have allowed 10.3 assists and 34.9 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is ranked 45th and 177th in D-1. The Demon Deacons on the defensive side of the court are 181st in college basketball in points given up per game with 70.8. They have forced 11.8 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 42.2% from the floor (165th in college hoops).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Wake Forest

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