St. Mary's Gaels vs Colorado State Rams Prediction, 12/9/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Mary's Gaels vs Colorado State Rams

Date: Saturday, December 9, 2023

Location: Moby Arena in Fort Collins, CO

TV: ESPN+

The Colorado State Rams (9-0) will go up against the St. Mary's Gaels (4-5) at Moby Arena on Saturday.

The St. Mary's Gaels took the court against Cleveland State and walked away with a win by a score of 70-57 in their last contest. St. Mary's finished having earned a 49.1% field goal percentage (28 out of 57) and converted 4 of 19 shots from beyond the arc. At the charity stripe, the Gaels made 10 of their 19 shots for a rate of 52.6%. In terms of pulling down rebounds, they earned a total of 34 with 8 of them being offensive. They also recorded 17 assists for the game as well as forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and having 11 steals. With respect to defense, St. Mary's allowed 35.0% from the field on 21 of 60 shooting. Cleveland State earned 7 assists and had 4 steals for the matchup. On top of that, Cleveland State snagged 31 rebounds (8 offensive, 23 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Cleveland State shot 50.0% at the free throw line by burying 10 of 20 attempts. They buried 5 out of their 16 shots from long range. In regard to fouls, the Gaels ended up with 18 while Cleveland State recorded 19 fouls.

Mitchell Saxen is someone who was a contributor for this game. He totaled 20 points on 7 of 8 shooting. He played 33 minutes played and collected 8 rebounds. He finished 87.5% from the floor and earned 1 assist.

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St. Mary's will enter this matchup with a win-loss record of 4-5 so far this year. They are averaging 69.9 pts per game (275th in college basketball) while hitting 43.4% from the floor. The Gaels are shooting 29.1% on shots from 3-point land (59 of 203) and 61.7% from the free throw line. As a unit, St. Mary's is pulling down 41.4 boards per game and has accounted for 130 dimes on the year, which ranks 112th in the country in terms of passing. They lose possession by turning the ball over 11.4 times per contest and as a basketball team they commit 17.2 fouls every game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Gaels are able to force 11.6 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.0 fouls. They are conceding 30.6% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 13th in D-1 in points per game allowed (60.6). The Gaels defensively are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 39.2% (194 of 495) and they surrender 31.3 rebounds per game as a group. They are 73rd in the nation in allowing assists with 89 relinquished for the year.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Colorado State Rams went home victorious with a score of 90-80 when they played Denver. The Rams recorded 22 defensive rebounds and 5 offensive boards for a total of 27 for this contest. They also gave up possession of the ball 8 times, while earning 3 steals in this game. Denver earned 18 personal fouls for this contest which took the Rams to the free throw line for a total of 27 attempts. They were able to knock down 18 of those for a clip of 66.7%. In relation to three-point attempts, Colorado State made 8 of 17 tries (47.1%). Overall, the Rams shot 32 for 53 from the floor which had them shooting 60.4%. The Rams permitted Denver to knock down 29 out of their 57 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 50.9% in the game. They went 47.6% from three-point range by connecting on 10 of 21 and finished the game at 12 of 16 at the free throw line (75.0%). Regarding how they attacked the glass, Colorado State permitted Denver to pull down 20 in all (5 on the offensive side).

Patrick Cartier ended up having an impact for the Rams in the matchup. He buried 8 of 10 for the contest giving him a rate of 80.0%, and had 1 rebound. He had 19 points in his 27 minutes of playing time and had 3 dimes in the matchup.

Colorado State has a mark of 9-0 this season. When it comes to executing on offense, the Rams are hitting on 53.5% from the field, which ranks them 2nd in the nation. Colorado State has totaled 772 pts for the season (85.8 per contest) and they grab 32.0 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 20.6 times per contest (5th in the country) and they are losing possession via turnover 9.4 times per game. The Rams are responsible for committing 16.9 personal fouls every game and they go 76.5% from the charity stripe.

The Colorado State defense allows 32.3% on 3-point attempts (60 of 186) and their opponents are connecting on 75.8% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 11.6 dimes and 31.9 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 113th and 56th in college hoops. The Rams on the defensive side of the court are 196th in D-1 in points allowed per game with 71.2. They are forcing their opponents into 12.8 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.1% from the floor (247th in the nation).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take St. Mary's

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