Santa Clara Broncos vs Sam Houston State Bearkats Prediction, 3/15/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Santa Clara Broncos vs Sam Houston State Bearkats

Date: Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Location: Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum in Huntsville, TX

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Santa Clara (-4)

Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum is the site where the Sam Houston State Bearkats (25-7) will try to defeat the Santa Clara Broncos (23-9) on Wednesday. Sam Houston State is -4-point underdogs from Vegas oddsmakers. The total is set at 142.

The Santa Clara Broncos stepped onto the hardwood against San Francisco and took a loss by a score of 93-87 in their last game. Santa Clara wrapped up the contest with a 43.2% FG percentage (32 of 74) and buried 10 out of their 29 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the charity stripe, the Broncos buried 13 of 19 shots for a percentage of 68.4%. In the matter of grabbing boards, they compiled a total of 30 with 6 of them being offensive. They also distributed 15 assists in this game as well as forcing 14 turnovers and having 10 steals. In the matter of defending, Santa Clara allowed their opponent to shoot 41.9% from the floor on 26 out of 62 shooting. San Francisco earned 9 dimes and had 9 steals for the matchup. On top of that, San Francisco snagged 45 rebounds (11 offensive, 34 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. San Francisco shot 77.1% at the free throw line by burying 27 of their 35 attempts. They knocked down 14 of their 27 tries from distance. When talking about personal fouls, the Broncos ended up with 25 while San Francisco accumulated 20 personal fouls.

Brandin Podziemski is someone who played a role in the matchup. He finished shooting 41.2% from the floor and dished out 9 assists. He saw the court for 49 mins played and collected 11 boards. He ended up walking away with 22 points on 7 out of 17 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Basketball Picks Tonight

Santa Clara heads into this game with a win-loss mark of 23-9 so far this season. They are turning it over 12.4 times per game and as a group they commit 15.8 fouls every game. As a team, Santa Clara is snagging 38.4 boards per contest and has racked up 448 assists for the year, which is 125th in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Broncos are shooting 37.0% on shots from downtown (268 of 725) and 70.4% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 77.6 pts per game (48th in D-1) on 45.5% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Broncos are forcing 11.8 turnovers every game while drawing 17.8 fouls. They are currently ranked 245th in the nation in allowing assists to the opposition with 436 relinquished so far this year. The Broncos defensively are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 43.4% (859 of 1,981) and they surrender 33.6 boards per game as a team. They are relinquishing 36.0% on 3-point attempts and they are 281st in college basketball in PPG allowed (73.6).

In their last game, the Sam Houston State Bearkats walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 78-75 against Grand Canyon. The Bearkats were able to snag 18 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 25 for the matchup. They coughed up the ball 4 times, while earning 4 steals in the game. Grand Canyon had 24 fouls for the matchup which took the Bearkats to the charity stripe for 28 shots. They were able to knock down 20 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 71.4%. When it comes to 3-point shots, Sam Houston State made 5 out of their 19 tries (26.3%). In all, the Bearkats walked away from this one shooting 25 for 54 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.3%. The Bearkats permitted Grand Canyon to convert 25 of 46 tries from the field which had them shooting 54.3% in the matchup. They finished shooting 53.3% from distance by shooting 16 out of 30 and finished the contest at 12 out of 17 from the charity stripe (70.6%). When talking about attacking the glass, Sam Houston State permitted Grand Canyon to pull down 22 in total (2 offensive).

Qua Grant ended up being important for the Bearkats for the contest. He converted 7 out of 17 in the matchup for a rate of 41.2%, and earned 4 rebounds. He racked up 24 points in his 34 minutes on the hardwood and had 8 assists in the matchup.

Sam Houston State has a win-loss mark of 25-7 on the campaign. When it comes to executing on offense, the Bearkats are hitting on 45.9% from the field, which ranks 97th in college hoops. Sam Houston State has accounted for 2,341 points on the campaign (73.2 per contest) and they pull down 37.1 boards per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 13.8 times per game (129th in college basketball) and they turn the ball over 13.2 times per game. The Bearkats commit 18.1 fouls per game and they shoot 68.1% from the free throw line.

The Sam Houston State defense gives up 31.9% on 3-pointers (239 of 749) and their opponents are converting on 69.9% of their foul shots. They have surrendered 10.8 assists and 30.5 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 39th and 17th in college hoops. The Bearkats on the defensive end are ranked 4th in D-1 in points allowed per game with 58.9. They are able to force 16.8 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 38.7% from the floor (5th in Division 1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Sam Houston State (+4)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here