Utah Tech Trailblazers vs Colorado Buffaloes Prediction, 12/21/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Utah Tech Trailblazers vs Colorado Buffaloes

Date: Thursday, December 21, 2023

Location: CU Events Center in Boulder, CO

TV: PAC12

The Utah Tech Trailblazers (5-6) are headed to CU Events Center on Thursday where they will try to defeat the Colorado Buffaloes (8-2).

The Utah Tech Trailblazers played North Dakota and ended up losing by a score of 79-62 in their last game. With respect to personal fouls, the Trailblazers ended up with 20 while North Dakota totaled 18 personal fouls. They also knocked down 12 of their 29 attempts from distance. North Dakota finished the game at 71.4% from the free throw line by burying 15 of 21 attempts. Furthermore, North Dakota snagged 45 boards (16 offensive, 29 defensive), but didn't have a block. North Dakota earned 16 assists and had 8 steals for this game. Regarding the defense, Utah Tech allowed their opponent to shoot 41.3% from the field on 26 of 63 shooting. They also doled out 10 assists for the contest in addition to forcing the opposition into 15 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In terms of getting rebounds, they collected 25 with 7 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Trailblazers buried 14 of 23 tries for a rate of 60.9%. Utah Tech finished the game with a 40.0% FG percentage (22 of 55) and knocked down 4 of their 17 three-point shots.

David Elliott is a guy who played a role for the contest. He accounted for 11 points on 3 of 7 shooting. He played for 18 mins and collected 3 boards. He walked away from this one shooting 42.9% from the field and distributed 3 dimes.

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Utah Tech will play this contest with a mark of 5-6 on the campaign. They have an average of 69.2 points per game (294th in D-1) while shooting 43.7% from the floor. The Trailblazers are connecting on 36.1% on shots from beyond the arc (75 of 208) and 67.3% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Utah Tech is collecting 34.4 rebounds per contest and has earned 140 assists on the year, which is 236th in the nation in terms of passing. They are losing possession via turnover 14.8 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 20.4 fouls every game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Trailblazers have forced 14.0 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.0 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 233rd in college hoops in allowing assists to their opponents with 144 surrendered this year. The Trailblazers defense is giving up an opponent FG percentage of 41.9% (271 of 647) and they surrender 37.2 boards per game as a basketball team. They are conceding 33.7% on three-point shots and they are 235th in college basketball in PPG allowed (73.0).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Colorado Buffaloes took home the win by a final score of 90-68 when they played Northern Colorado. The Buffaloes pulled down 30 defensive boards and 11 offensive rebounds totaling 41 in this matchup. They turned it over 12 times, while recording 9 steals in the matchup. Northern Colorado was called for 14 personal fouls in this contest which got the Buffaloes to the free throw line for 13 shots. They were able to make 11 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 84.6%. In regard to shooting from distance, Colorado knocked down 9 out of their 27 attempts (33.3%). At the conclusion of this game, the Buffaloes finished the game shooting 35 for 71 from the floor which had them shooting 49.3%. The Buffaloes allowed Northern Colorado to convert 25 of their 60 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 41.7% in this game. They finished 14.3% from distance by shooting 3 out of 21 and walked away from this one shooting 15 out of 20 at the charity stripe (75.0%). When discussing attacking the glass, Colorado permitted Northern Colorado to snag 31 overall (7 offensive).

KJ Simpson was important for the Buffaloes in the matchup. He scored 21 points in his 29 mins on the hardwood and earned 4 dimes for this contest. He made 9 out of 12 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 75.0%, and had 5 rebounds.

Colorado has a win-loss mark of 8-2 for the season. As an offensive team, the Buffaloes are connecting on 52.1% from the floor, which is ranked 3rd in the nation. Colorado has accounted for 850 points so far this year (85.0 per game) and they pull down 38.2 rebounds per contest. They are dishing out assists 19.3 times per contest (8th in college basketball) and they are turning it over 13.9 times per contest. The Buffaloes are responsible for committing 15.9 fouls per game and they hit 79.2% from the charity stripe.

The Buffaloes on the defensive end are ranked 132nd in D-1 in points given up per game with 68.8. They are able to force 13.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 41.8% from the floor (137th in college hoops). The Colorado defense concedes 32.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter (68 of 211) and opponents are knocking down 74.0% of their free throw shots. They allow 9.3 dimes and 27.9 boards per game, which ranks them 11th and 2nd in the country.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Utah Tech

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