Virginia Tech Hokies vs Cincinnati Bearcats Prediction, 3/15/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Virginia Tech Hokies vs Cincinnati Bearcats

Date: Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Location: Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, OH

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: Virginia Tech (+5)

The Virginia Tech Hokies (19-14) are traveling to Fifth Third Arena on Wednesday where they will compete against the Cincinnati Bearcats (21-12). Cincinnati opens this matchup as 5-point favorites. The over/under is 150.

The Virginia Tech Hokies faced off with North Carolina State and ended up losing by a score of 97-77 in their last game. In reference to fouls, the Hokies finished with 13 while North Carolina State finished the game with 19 fouls. They also converted 11 out of their 24 attempts from beyond the arc. North Carolina State ended up going 66.7% from the free throw line by making 8 of 12 tries. Moreover, North Carolina State pulled down 30 boards (8 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. North Carolina State recorded 19 dimes and had 5 steals for the contest. Regarding defending, Virginia Tech allowed the other team to go 61.9% from the floor on 39 of 63 shooting. They also distributed 14 dimes in the game while forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and earning 4 steals. In regard to rebounding, they earned 20 with 3 of them being of the offensive sort. From the free throw line, the Hokies knocked down 16 of 19 attempts for a percentage of 84.2%. Virginia Tech ended the game having earned a 48.1% FG percentage (26 out of 54) and buried 9 out of their 24 shots from downtown.

Rodney Rice is a player who was a major factor in the game. He totaled 17 points on 5 out of 7 shooting. He played 19 mins played and pulled down 3 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 71.4% from the field but wasn't able to get an assist.

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Virginia Tech heads into this game with a win-loss record of 19-14 this year. They are turning it over 9.9 times per contest and as a squad are committing 15.5 fouls per contest. As a team, Virginia Tech is collecting 33.4 rebounds per game and has earned 513 assists for the year, which has them ranked 32nd in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Hokies are shooting 36.2% on shots from beyond the arc (275 of 760) and 73.5% from the free throw line. They have an average of 74.2 pts per game (122nd in D-1) on 47.0% from the floor.

When they are on the defensive end, the Hokies are forcing 10.9 turnovers every game while drawing 15.7 fouls. They currently rank 186th in college hoops in allowing assists with 411 relinquished on the year. The Hokies defensively are allowing a shooting percentage of 44.6% (863 of 1,937) and they surrender 33.5 boards per game as a basketball team. They are relinquishing 34.1% on 3-point attempts and they rank 166th in the nation in opponents points per game (69.8).

For their last game, the Cincinnati Bearcats walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 69-48 when they played Houston. In the matter of team rebounding, Cincinnati permitted Houston to grab 38 in all (8 on the offensive glass). They finished the game shooting 20.0% from three-point range by hitting 3 of 15 and ended up going 8 of 13 from the charity stripe (61.5%). The Bearcats permitted Houston to knock down 29 of 57 tries from the field which had them shooting 50.9% for the matchup. Overall, the Bearcats went 13 for 51 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 25.5%. With regard to shots from beyond the arc, Cincinnati made 6 of 28 attempts (21.4%). They were able to knock down 16 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 57.1%. Houston was called for 22 personal fouls for the contest which got the Bearcats to the free throw line for 28 attempts. They gave up possession 9 times, while earning 8 steals in this contest. The Bearcats snagged 22 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards for a total of 31 for the contest.

David Dejulius ended up having an impact for the Bearcats in this contest. He converted 11 of 18 in this contest for a rate of 61.1%, and added 2 rebounds. He tallied 30 points in his 34 minutes on the court and tallied 6 assists in this game.

Cincinnati has a mark of 21-12 for the campaign. The Bearcats are committing 15.8 fouls per contest and they hit 69.7% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 15.8 times per contest (26th in college basketball) and they turn it over 10.6 times per game. Cincinnati has totaled 2,548 pts for the year (77.2 per contest) and they average 36.9 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Bearcats are shooting 45.0% from the floor, which is 160th in the nation.

The Cincinnati defense gives up 31.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter (191 of 605) and opponents are converting on 74.4% of their foul shots. They have allowed 12.6 dimes and 34.8 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks 176th and 225th in college basketball. The Bearcats are ranked 152nd in college basketball in points allowed per game with 69.2. They are forcing 12.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 42.7% from the field (120th in Division 1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Virginia Tech (+5)

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