SMU Mustangs vs Cincinnati Bearcats Prediction, 3/5/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: SMU Mustangs vs Cincinnati Bearcats

Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023

Location: Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, OH

TV: ESPN+

Fifth Third Arena is where the Cincinnati Bearcats (19-11) will meet the SMU Mustangs (10-20) on Sunday.

The SMU Mustangs took the court against Memphis and went home with a loss by a final score of 81-62 in their last contest. SMU finished with a 36.2% field goal percentage (21 out of 58) and converted 5 out of their 24 3-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Mustangs converted 15 of their 21 shots for a rate of 71.4%. Pertaining to grabbing boards, they earned a total of 33 with 14 of them being offensive. They also distributed 11 assists in the game as well as forcing the other team into 18 turnovers and having 10 steals. When talking about defense, SMU let their opponent shoot 51.9% from the floor on 27 out of 52 shooting. Memphis earned 21 dimes and had 9 steals in the matchup. On top of that, Memphis snagged 31 rebounds (8 offensive, 23 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Memphis went 69.2% at the free throw line by making 18 of their 26 shots. They also buried 9 out of their 17 tries from 3-point range. In reference to fouls, the Mustangs ended up finishing with 20 and Memphis totaled 19 fouls.

Samuell Williamson is one guy who was important in this game. He finished shooting 41.7% from the field and totaled 2 dimes. He was on the court for 34 mins and also snagged 11 boards. He ended up with 14 points on 5 out of 12 shooting.

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SMU steps onto the court with a win-loss mark of 10-20 on the season. They cough up possession 13.0 times per contest and as a squad they commit 17.5 fouls per contest. As a team, SMU is snagging 35.0 boards per game and has accounted for 407 assists this season, which has them ranked 155th in college hoops in terms of passing. The Mustangs are hitting 31.1% on three-point shots (192 of 617) and 66.2% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 70.1 points per game (215th in D-1) while hitting 42.2% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Mustangs are forcing 13.8 turnovers per game while drawing 17.7 fouls. They rank 328th in the nation in giving up assists with 456 relinquished so far this season. The Mustangs defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 44.9% (801 of 1,784) and they concede 37.8 rebounds per contest as a unit. They give up 34.3% on 3-point shots while they are 312th in college hoops in points per game allowed (74.8).

The last time they took the court, the Cincinnati Bearcats took a loss by a final score of 76-73 when they faced Memphis. The Bearcats were able to collect 26 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 34 in this contest. They also gave up possession 20 times, while recording 5 steals for this game. Memphis committed 16 fouls for this contest which got the Bearcats to the charity stripe for 9 attempts. They were able to make 5 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 55.6%. Concerning shooting from 3-point land, Cincinnati made 10 of 27 tries (37.0%). Overall, the Bearcats shot 29 for 59 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 49.2%. The Bearcats allowed Memphis to bury 30 of their 65 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 46.2% for this game. They shot 20.0% from downtown by hitting 3 of 15 and ended up going 13 of 17 at the free throw line (76.5%). When it comes to cleaning the glass, Cincinnati allowed Memphis to get 28 in total (9 offensive).

David Dejulius ended up being a factor for the Bearcats in this contest. He racked up 16 points in his 39 minutes on the hardwood and had 6 assists for the contest. He knocked down 7 out of 19 for this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 36.8%, and accounted for 6 rebounds.

Cincinnati has a win-loss record of 19-11 for the campaign. As an offensive unit, the Bearcats are shooting 45.1% from the field, which is 164th in D-1. Cincinnati has accounted for 2,319 pts on the year (77.3 per contest) and they pull in 36.9 rebounds per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 15.8 times per contest (26th in college hoops) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 10.9 times per game. The Bearcats are committing 15.8 fouls every game and they go 70.4% from the free throw line.

The Cincinnati defense gives up 32.2% on three-point shots (179 of 556) and opponents are connecting on 74.6% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 12.7 assists and 34.4 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 188th and 206th in college basketball. The Bearcats on the defensive end are ranked 167th in college basketball in PPG given up with 69.6. They are forcing 12.3 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 42.9% from the floor (127th in D-1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take SMU

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