Utah Valley Wolverines vs Colorado Buffaloes Prediction, 3/19/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Utah Valley Wolverines vs Colorado Buffaloes

Date: Sunday, March 19, 2023

Location: CU Events Center in Boulder, CO

TV: ESPNU

Odds/Point Spread: Utah Valley (+5)

The Colorado Buffaloes (18-16) will take on the Utah Valley Wolverines (26-8) at CU Events Center on Sunday. Utah Valley opens this contest as 5-point underdogs. The total is set at 142.5.

The Utah Valley Wolverines faced off with New Mexico and notched a win by a score of 83-69 in their last contest. In regard to fouls, the Wolverines ended up walking away with 15 and New Mexico recorded 12 fouls. They made 3 of 14 shots from downtown. New Mexico finished shooting 52.6% when shooting free throws by knocking down 10 of 19 attempts. Moreover, New Mexico pulled down 35 rebounds (8 offensive, 27 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. New Mexico earned 14 assists and had 8 steals in the game. When discussing defense, Utah Valley let their opponent shoot 40.6% from the floor on 28 of 69 shooting. They also distributed 19 dimes in the matchup in addition to forcing 8 turnovers and earning 5 steals. With respect to pulling down boards, they earned 45 with 10 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Wolverines converted 8 of their 11 shots for a percentage of 72.7%. Utah Valley wrapped up the contest with a 47.2% field goal percentage (34 out of 72) and knocked down 7 of their 18 3-point shots.

Justin Harmon is one guy who was important for the game. He walked away from this one shooting 65.0% from the floor and earned 3 dimes. He saw the court for 34 minutes played and snagged 3 boards. He accounted for 32 points on 13 of 20 shooting.

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Utah Valley heads into this one with a win-loss record of 26-8 this year. They average 77.2 pts per contest (54th in the nation) while hitting 46.4% from the floor. The Wolverines are hitting 33.1% on shots from 3-point land (223 of 674) and 74.1% from the charity stripe. As a team, Utah Valley is pulling down 40.1 boards per game and has totaled 550 assists so far this year, which is 13th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession via turnover 13.8 times per contest and as a group are committing 17.9 fouls every game.

On the defensive end, the Wolverines are able to force 12.6 turnovers per contest while drawing 19.1 fouls. They relinquish 30.9% from 3-point land and they are 125th in college hoops in points per game allowed (68.2). The Wolverines defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 39.0% (843 of 2,163) and they surrender 36.4 boards per contest as a unit. They are currently ranked 108th in college basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 383 relinquished so far this year.

For their last game, the Colorado Buffaloes got the victory with a final of 65-64 against Seton Hall. When discussing rebounds, Colorado allowed Seton Hall to snag 33 in all (7 on the offensive glass). They finished 22.2% from three-point range by connecting on 4 of 18 and ended up shooting 16 out of 18 at the charity stripe (88.9%). The Buffaloes allowed Seton Hall to knock down 22 of 60 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 36.7% for the game. When this game wrapped up, the Buffaloes finished the game shooting 21 for 54 from the floor which gave them a rate of 38.9%. In relation to shots from beyond the perimeter, Colorado buried 10 of 18 tries (55.6%). They were able to knock down 13 of those for a clip of 81.3%. Seton Hall committed 16 personal fouls for this game which took the Buffaloes to the charity stripe for 16 attempts. They also coughed it up 10 times, while earning 1 steal for this game. The Buffaloes were able to corral 29 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 37 in this contest.

Ethan Wright was important for the Buffaloes in the game. He recorded 18 points in his 27 mins of playing time and had 1 assist for the contest. He knocked down 5 out of 9 in this matchup for a rate of 55.6%, and accounted for 5 rebounds.

Colorado has a record of 18-16 on the campaign. When it comes to offensive execution, the Buffaloes are shooting 43.3% from the floor, which ranks 254th in D-1. Colorado has totaled 2,376 pts for the campaign (69.9 per game) and they pull down 37.4 rebounds per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 13.0 times per game (185th in the nation) and they are turning it over 13.3 times per game. The Buffaloes are committing 16.3 fouls every game and they connect on 69.6% from the charity stripe.

The Buffaloes on the defensive side of the court are 74th in college basketball in PPG surrendered with 66.7. They are forcing their opponents into 13.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 42.1% from the floor (80th in college hoops). The Colorado defense allows 31.6% on shots from distance (208 of 659) and their opponents are converting on 71.5% of their foul shots. They relinquish 11.1 assists and 33.6 total boards per game, which has them ranked 63rd and 147th in college basketball.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Colorado (-5)

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