North Dakota State Bison vs Southern Illinois Salukis Prediction, 12/19/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: North Dakota State Bison vs Southern Illinois Salukis

Date: Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Location: Banterra Center in Carbondale, IL

TV: ESPN+

The North Dakota State Bison (7-5) are hitting the road to Banterra Center on Tuesday where they will attempt to beat the Southern Illinois Salukis (6-4).

The North Dakota State Bison faced Illinois State and took a loss by a final of 75-65 in their last game. When discussing personal fouls, the Bison walked away with 18 while Illinois State totaled 12 personal fouls. They also knocked down 2 out of their 9 shots from 3-point range. Illinois State ended up going 67.9% from the charity stripe by burying 19 of their 28 tries. On top of that, Illinois State pulled down 31 rebounds (6 offensive, 25 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Illinois State totaled 12 assists and had 7 steals for the contest. Regarding the defense, North Dakota State let their opponent shoot 50.0% from the field on 27 out of 54 shooting. They also doled out 11 dimes for this game while forcing 9 turnovers and having 4 steals. When it comes to hauling in rebounds, they collected 29 with 6 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Bison made 9 of their 13 attempts for a rate of 69.2%. North Dakota State wrapped up the game with a 44.8% field goal percentage (26 out of 58) and buried 4 of their 12 3-point shots.

Tajavis Miller is a player who was a major contributor in this contest. He ended up finishing with 18 points on 8 out of 13 shooting. He was on the court for 36 minutes played and also collected 4 boards. He finished the contest at 61.5% from the field and earned 2 assists.

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North Dakota State will take the court with a win-loss record of 7-5 for the season. They are averaging 77.9 pts per contest (117th in D-1) while going 47.0% from the floor. The Bison are shooting 38.3% on 3-point shots (102 of 266) and 68.3% from the free throw line. As a unit, North Dakota State is grabbing 38.2 boards per contest and has accounted for 153 assists this season, which is 149th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession via turnover 10.5 times per contest and as a squad are committing 14.0 personal fouls per game.

When they are on defense, the Bison are forcing 10.5 turnovers per contest and they draw 15.5 fouls. They are surrendering 34.5% from 3-point land and they are ranked 153rd in the country in opponents PPG (69.8). The Bison defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 43.6% (319 of 731) and they concede 33.5 rebounds per game as a unit. They rank 214th in Division 1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 140 surrendered on the campaign.

When they last stepped on the court, the Southern Illinois Salukis went home defeated by a final of 69-68 against Wichita State. When discussing how they cleaned up the glass, Southern Illinois allowed Wichita State to get 33 in total (12 on the offensive glass). They wrapped up this game 37.5% from downtown by shooting 6 out of 16 and finished the game at 11 of 15 at the charity stripe (73.3%). The Salukis permitted Wichita State to make 26 of 62 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 41.9% in this game. At the conclusion of this game, the Salukis went 26 out of 54 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 48.1%. Regarding shooting from beyond the arc, Southern Illinois made 7 of 21 tries (33.3%). They were able to knock down 9 of the free throws for a rate of 69.2%. Wichita State committed 14 personal fouls in this game which got the Salukis to the free throw line for 13 attempts. They turned it over 11 times, while getting 2 steals in this game. The Salukis snagged 23 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards totaling 30 for this game.

Xavier Johnson was important for the Salukis in this game. He racked up 23 points in his 40 mins on the court and added 9 dimes in this contest. He made 8 of 15 in this game for a rate of 53.3%, and accumulated 3 rebounds.

Southern Illinois has a mark of 6-4 so far this year. As an offense, the Salukis are shooting 47.4% from the floor, which ranks 77th in the nation. Southern Illinois has accounted for 762 pts this season (76.2 per contest) and they pull in 32.9 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 15.2 times per contest (91st in the country) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 10.9 times per contest. The Salukis are responsible for committing 18.6 fouls per contest and they hit 73.3% from the free throw line.

The Salukis on the defensive end are ranked 71st in the nation in points allowed per contest with 66.2. They are forcing their opponents into 11.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 43.0% from the field (203rd in D-1). The Southern Illinois defense concedes 29.4% on shots from 3-point land (52 of 177) and their opponents are knocking down 68.4% of their free throw attempts. They allow 10.2 assists and 32.9 boards per contest, which has them ranked 33rd and 94th in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Southern Illinois

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