Pittsburgh Panthers vs Xavier Musketeers Prediction, 3/19/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Panthers vs Xavier Musketeers

Date: Sunday, March 19, 2023

Location: Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: Pittsburgh (+5)

The Xavier Musketeers (26-9) will play the Pittsburgh Panthers (24-11) at Greensboro Coliseum on Sunday. Pittsburgh opens this game as 5-point underdogs. The over/under comes in at 154.5.

The Pittsburgh Panthers stepped onto the hardwood against Iowa State and went home with a win by a final score of 59-41 in their last game. Pittsburgh wrapped up the contest having earned a 34.1% FG percentage (14 out of 41) and buried 6 of 19 three-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Panthers made 25 of 29 tries for a percentage of 86.2%. In the matter of hauling in boards, they collected 36 with 5 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 10 assists for the matchup as well as forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and having 6 steals. When it comes to defense, Pittsburgh let their opponent shoot 23.3% from the floor on 14 out of 60 shooting. Iowa State recorded 7 assists and had 8 steals in the game. Moreover, Iowa State snagged 33 boards (13 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Iowa State walked away from this one shooting 57.9% when shooting free throws by making 11 of 19 tries. They also buried 2 of their 21 attempts from beyond the arc. When talking about personal fouls, the Panthers ended up with 19 and Iowa State finished the game with 22 personal fouls.

Nelly Cummings is one guy who played a role for the contest. He accounted for 13 points on 5 out of 11 shooting. He saw the court for 31 mins and also snagged 1 rebound. He finished the game shooting 45.5% from the field and distributed 3 dimes.

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Pittsburgh will enter this contest with a record of 24-11 on the year. They cough up possession 11.2 times per contest and as a team are committing 16.2 fouls per game. As a team, Pittsburgh is snagging 36.0 rebounds per game and has totaled 495 dimes for the season, which has them ranked 58th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. The Panthers are connecting on 36.1% on shots from beyond the arc (319 of 883) and 76.2% from the free throw line. They are averaging 75.2 points per game (92nd in college basketball) while going 44.9% from the floor.

When they are on the defensive end, the Panthers are forcing 11.4 turnovers every game and they draw 17.9 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 290th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 457 conceded for the campaign. The Panthers defense is giving up an opponent FG percentage of 41.9% (862 of 2,059) and they concede 34.3 rebounds per contest as a team. They concede 32.6% on shots from downtown and they rank 154th in college basketball in points per game allowed (69.3).

The last time they took the court, the Xavier Musketeers took home the win by a final score of 72-67 against Kennesaw State. When talking about rebounds, Xavier permitted Kennesaw State to pull down 33 in total (8 offensive). They finished 26.3% from beyond the perimeter by going 5 of 19 and ended up going 8 out of 13 at the free throw line (61.5%). The Musketeers allowed Kennesaw State to knock down 27 of their 64 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 42.2% for the game. When the final whistle blew, the Musketeers finished shooting 24 out of 52 from the field which gave them a percentage of 46.2%. In relation to 3-point attempts, Xavier converted 2 out of 12 attempts (16.7%). They were able to convert 22 of the free throws for a percentage of 73.3%. Kennesaw State was called for 21 fouls for this contest which got the Musketeers to the free throw line for a total of 30 attempts. They also coughed it up 10 times, while recording 6 steals for the game. The Musketeers were able to snag 31 defensive rebounds and 3 offensive rebounds for a total of 34 in this matchup.

Jerome Hunter ended up being a major contributor for the Musketeers for the contest. He buried 8 of 11 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 72.7%, and earned 5 rebounds. He earned 24 points in his 30 minutes on the hardwood, but left the arena with no assists.

Xavier has a win-loss record of 26-9 this season. When it comes to offense, the Musketeers are connecting on 49.4% from the floor, which has them ranked 6th in Division 1. Xavier has accumulated 2,840 pts on the year (81.1 per game) and they collect 37.6 rebounds per contest. They are earning an assist 19.2 times per contest (1st in Division 1) and they are turning it over 12.5 times per contest. The Musketeers are responsible for committing 15.9 fouls per game and they hit 71.5% from the charity stripe.

The Musketeers are ranked 290th in college basketball in PPG surrendered with 73.9. They are forcing 11.9 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.2% from the field (213th in D-1). The Xavier defense allows 35.6% on shots from distance (261 of 733) and opponents are converting on 72.2% of their foul shots. They relinquish 14.7 dimes and 32.1 rebounds per game, which ranks 326th and 63rd in the country.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (+5)

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