Tarleton State Texans vs Southern Utah Thunderbirds Prediction, 2/9/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tarleton State Texans vs Southern Utah Thunderbirds

Date: Thursday, February 9, 2023

Location: America First Events Center in Cedar City, UT

TV: ESPN+

The Tarleton State Texans (13-11) are en route to America First Events Center on Thursday where they will try to beat the Southern Utah Thunderbirds (16-8).

The Tarleton State Texans faced off with UT Arlington and walked away with a win by a score of 69-64 in their last game. Concerning fouls, the Texans ended up walking away with 21 while UT Arlington accounted for 21 fouls. They converted 7 of 23 attempts from 3-point land. UT Arlington finished the contest at 68.8% at the charity stripe by knocking down 11 of 16 tries. On top of that, UT Arlington grabbed 29 rebounds (11 offensive, 18 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. UT Arlington distributed 15 dimes and had 6 steals for the matchup. In reference to defending, Tarleton State allowed the other team to shoot 40.4% from the field on 23 of 57 shooting. They also recorded 15 assists in the matchup while forcing 17 turnovers and getting 10 steals. Pertaining to rebounding, they collected 23 with 4 of them being of the offensive variety. From the free throw line, the Texans made 20 of their 24 shots for a percentage of 83.3%. Tarleton State finished the game having earned a 50.0% field goal percentage (22 out of 44) and buried 5 of 12 shots from beyond the arc.

Freddy Hicks is someone who was a factor in this game. He walked away with 22 points on 7 of 13 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 40 mins and also pulled down 6 rebounds. He finished the contest at 53.8% from the field and also distributed 2 assists.

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Tarleton State heads into this contest with a win-loss mark of 13-11 for the season. They average 71.1 points per contest (190th in Division 1) while hitting 45.6% from the field. The Texans are connecting on 34.0% on 3-pointers (110 of 324) and 67.8% from the free throw line. As a team, Tarleton State is pulling in 32.4 rebounds per game and has accounted for 297 assists this year, which has them ranked 259th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 12.5 times per contest and as a basketball team they commit 20.1 personal fouls per game.

On defense, the Texans have forced 17.4 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 21.0 fouls. They surrender 34.9% from 3-point land and they are 122nd in college basketball in opponents PPG (67.5). The Texans defensively are allowing a shooting percentage of 43.6% (536 of 1,228) and they surrender 33.5 boards per contest as a basketball team. They are ranked 177th in the nation in giving up assists to their opponents with 302 surrendered so far this season.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Southern Utah Thunderbirds took a loss by a score of 86-79 when they played Utah Tech. Concerning how they rebounded, Southern Utah allowed Utah Tech to collect 29 in total (6 on the offensive glass). They finished the game shooting 47.4% from distance by shooting 9 of 19 and finished the game at 19 out of 24 at the free throw line (79.2%). The Thunderbirds permitted Utah Tech to make 29 of their 55 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 52.7% for the game. When the game finished, the Thunderbirds finished the game shooting 24 out of 58 from the field which gave them a percentage of 41.4%. In the matter of 3-point attempts, Southern Utah converted 12 out of 30 attempts (40.0%). They were able to knock down 19 of the free throw tries for a rate of 82.6%. Utah Tech was called for 21 fouls for this game which took the Thunderbirds to the free throw line for 23 shots. They also coughed up the ball 16 times, while getting 5 steals in this matchup. The Thunderbirds snagged 22 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards totaling 32 in the game.

Maizen Fausett pitched in for the Thunderbirds in the matchup. He converted 8 out of 15 for the contest for a field goal percentage of 53.3%, and had 4 rebounds. He racked up 21 points in his 35 minutes on the court and had 1 assist in this contest.

Southern Utah has a record of 16-8 on the year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Thunderbirds are shooting 47.8% from the floor, which ranks 33rd in college hoops. Southern Utah has scored 2,036 pts so far this year (84.8 per game) and they grab 39.3 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 13.6 times per contest (154th in the country) and they turn the ball over 13.6 times per game. The Thunderbirds have committed 18.3 fouls per game while shooting 71.0% from the free throw line.

The Southern Utah defense gives up 34.2% on shots from beyond the arc (184 of 538) and their opposition knocks down 70.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They concede 11.9 dimes and 34.1 boards every game, which has them ranked 119th and 188th in college hoops. The Thunderbirds on defense are ranked 286th in college basketball in points given up per game with 73.5. They have forced 15.3 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.7% from the field (196th in Division 1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Tarleton State

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