Utah Tech Trailblazers vs Southern Utah Thunderbirds Prediction, 2/17/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Utah Tech Trailblazers vs Southern Utah Thunderbirds

Date: Friday, February 17, 2023

Location: America First Events Center in Cedar City, UT

TV: ESPN+

The Utah Tech Trailblazers (11-15) are traveling to America First Events Center on Friday where they will go up against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds (17-9).

The Utah Tech Trailblazers stepped onto the hardwood against Tarleton State and went home with a loss by a final score of 75-71 in their last game. Concerning fouls, the Trailblazers ended up with 25 and Tarleton State accounted for 24 fouls. They also made 8 of their 15 tries from distance. Tarleton State finished 74.2% at the charity stripe by making 23 of their 31 attempts. In addition, Tarleton State snagged 20 rebounds (2 offensive, 18 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Tarleton State earned 15 dimes and had 7 steals in this matchup. When talking about defense, Utah Tech allowed the other team to go 59.5% from the field on 22 out of 37 shooting. They also recorded 12 dimes for this game while creating 13 turnovers and getting 4 steals. In reference to getting rebounds, they earned 22 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Trailblazers made 22 of their 26 tries for a rate of 84.6%. Utah Tech ended the contest with a 44.2% field goal percentage (19 of 43) and converted 11 of their 27 shots from beyond the arc.

Dancell Leter is someone who was a major factor for this contest. He ended up walking away with 17 points on 5 out of 9 shooting. He played for 24 mins played and collected 2 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 55.6% from the field and totaled 1 assist.

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Utah Tech comes into this contest with a record of 11-15 this year. They average 75.3 points per outing (96th in college hoops) while connecting on 45.4% from the field. The Trailblazers are hitting 38.8% on shots from distance (231 of 596) and 69.5% from the free throw line. As a team, Utah Tech is collecting 34.1 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 340 assists for the year, which has them ranked 198th in the nation in terms of passing. They turn it over 15.4 times per contest and as a team are committing 19.7 fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Trailblazers are forcing their opponents into 15.3 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 21.6 personal fouls. They relinquish 35.6% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 286th in college basketball in PPG allowed (73.4). The Trailblazers defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 46.6% (671 of 1,439) and they surrender 31.8 boards per game as a team. They are currently ranked 234th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 353 conceded this year.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Southern Utah Thunderbirds went home defeated by a final of 90-83 when they played Utah Valley. The Thunderbirds earned 23 defensive boards and 14 offensive boards for a total of 37 for the game. They turned the ball over 10 times, while getting 11 steals in the game. Utah Valley earned 23 personal fouls for the game which took the Thunderbirds to the free throw line for a total of 26 attempts. They were able to knock down 19 of the free throw tries for a rate of 73.1%. In regard to 3-point attempts, Southern Utah knocked down 8 of 24 attempts (33.3%). At the conclusion of this game, the Thunderbirds finished the game shooting 28 out of 70 from the floor which had them shooting 40.0%. The Thunderbirds permitted Utah Valley to convert 25 of their 59 attempts from the floor which had them at 42.4% in this game. They finished 24.0% from beyond the perimeter via 6 of 25 and walked away from this one shooting 34 out of 41 at the free throw line (82.9%). In relation to team rebounding, Southern Utah permitted Utah Valley to snag 46 in total (15 offensive).

Drake Allen ended up being a factor for the Thunderbirds for the game. He converted 7 out of 17 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 41.2%, and tallied 5 rebounds. He recorded 17 points in his 32 minutes of playing time and totaled 2 dimes in this contest.

Southern Utah has a win-loss mark of 17-9 so far this season. The Thunderbirds commit 18.8 fouls per contest and they shoot 71.9% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 13.2 times per game (184th in college basketball) and they are giving up possession 13.6 times per contest. Southern Utah has scored 2,191 pts on the season (84.3 per contest) and they pull down 39.0 boards per contest. When it comes to executing on offense, the Thunderbirds are connecting on 47.5% from the field, which is 41st in college hoops.

The Southern Utah defense allows 33.9% from downtown (196 of 579) and their opponents are converting on 71.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They give up 12.0 dimes and 34.2 rebounds on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 125th and 188th in those defensive categories. The Thunderbirds are ranked 294th in D-1 in PPG given up with 73.7. They are able to force 15.1 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 43.5% from the field (182nd in college hoops).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Southern Utah

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