Pepperdine Waves vs Louisville Cardinals Prediction, 12/17/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Pepperdine Waves vs Louisville Cardinals

Date: Sunday, December 17, 2023

Location: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, KY

TV: ESPN

KFC Yum! Center is the site where the Louisville Cardinals (4-6) will meet the Pepperdine Waves (5-7) on Sunday.

The Pepperdine Waves faced off with UC-San Diego and went home with a win by a final score of 68-62 in their last contest. Pepperdine ended with a 44.8% FG percentage (26 out of 58) and made 6 out of their 14 shots from 3-point land. At the charity stripe, the Waves knocked down 10 of their 18 tries for a rate of 55.6%. In terms of getting rebounds, they earned 27 with 12 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 15 assists for this contest as well as forcing 15 turnovers and having 5 steals. With respect to defense, Pepperdine allowed the other team to go 42.3% from the floor on 22 out of 52 shooting. UC-San Diego distributed 8 dimes and had 3 steals in this contest. Moreover, UC-San Diego collected 34 rebounds (9 offensive, 25 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. UC-San Diego walked away from this one shooting 100.0% from the charity stripe by converting 14 of their 14 attempts. They converted 4 of 17 shots from 3-point range. In reference to personal fouls, the Waves ended up finishing with 15 while UC-San Diego totaled 16 personal fouls.

Houston Mallette is one guy who came through in this contest. He ended up shooting 50.0% from the floor and totaled 4 assists. He saw the court for 35 mins and grabbed 3 boards. He totaled 19 points on 7 out of 14 shooting.

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Pepperdine enters this game with a mark of 5-7 on the campaign. They are averaging 72.1 pts per game (249th in Division 1) while connecting on 45.3% from the floor. The Waves are shooting 36.9% from downtown (76 of 206) and 69.8% from the free throw line. As a unit, Pepperdine is pulling in 33.6 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 165 dimes so far this year, which ranks 49th in college basketball in terms of passing. They turn the ball over 12.7 times per game and as a unit they commit 17.4 fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Waves are able to force 13.0 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.6 personal fouls. They give up 35.0% on shots from downtown and they rank 207th in college hoops in points per game allowed (71.8). The Waves are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 48.6% (311 of 640) and they surrender 31.7 boards per game as a unit. They currently rank 303rd in college basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 148 surrendered for the season.

The last time they took the court, the Louisville Cardinals walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 75-63 when they faced Arkansas State. When it comes to rebounding, Louisville permitted Arkansas State to grab 43 in total (14 offensive). They finished 20.0% from 3-point land by connecting on 5 of 25 and ended up shooting 10 of 12 from the free throw line (83.3%). The Cardinals permitted Arkansas State to bury 30 of their 68 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 44.1% in this contest. When this game wrapped up, the Cardinals shot 22 out of 61 from the field which gave them a percentage of 36.1%. When discussing 3-point shots, Louisville buried 2 of their 15 tries (13.3%). They were able to knock down 17 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 73.9%. Arkansas State earned 19 fouls in this matchup which got the Cardinals to the charity stripe for a total of 23 attempts. They also gave up possession of the ball 9 times, while recording 4 steals for the game. The Cardinals pulled down 25 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards totaling 36 in the game.

Brandon Huntley-Hatfield ended up having an impact for the Cardinals in this game. He racked up 20 points in his 31 minutes on the hardwood, but didn't get an assist. He converted 4 of 7 for the matchup for a field goal rate of 57.1%, and had 11 rebounds.

Louisville has a win-loss mark of 4-6 this year. The Cardinals commit 18.5 fouls per contest and they connect on 73.8% from the free throw line. Their rate of earning assists is at 10.1 times per game (343rd in the country) and they turn it over 12.6 times per game. Louisville has tallied 734 points this year (73.4 per contest) and they average 38.2 boards per game. As an offensive team, the Cardinals are hitting on 41.1% from the field, which ranks them 312th in college basketball.

The Louisville defense gives up 29.1% on shots from 3-point land (60 of 206) and opponents are making 72.3% of their foul shots. They have surrendered 13.7 dimes and 36.1 total boards per game, which is ranked 265th and 237th in those categories. The Cardinals on the defensive side of the court are 270th in the country in points per game surrendered with 74.7. They are able to force 12.4 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 45.1% from the floor (290th in college hoops).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Pepperdine

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