Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Buffalo Bulls Prediction, 12/9/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Buffalo Bulls

Date: Saturday, December 9, 2023

Location: Alumni Arena in Buffalo, NY

TV: ESPN+

Alumni Arena is the location where the Buffalo Bulls (1-8) will meet the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (6-3) on Saturday.

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers faced Eastern Kentucky and took home the win by a score of 79-69 in their last contest. When discussing fouls, the Hilltoppers ended up finishing with 17 and Eastern Kentucky accumulated 20 fouls. They made 6 of their 24 tries from distance. Eastern Kentucky finished shooting 57.9% when shooting free throws by burying 11 of 19 attempts. Moreover, Eastern Kentucky grabbed 38 rebounds (12 offensive, 26 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Eastern Kentucky recorded 7 dimes and had 5 steals in this contest. In terms of defense, Western Kentucky let their opponent shoot 41.9% from the floor on 26 of 62 shooting. They also recorded 17 assists for the contest while forcing the opposition into 18 turnovers and getting 10 steals. Regarding rebounding, they earned 33 with 10 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Hilltoppers converted 12 of their 16 shots for a percentage of 75.0%. Western Kentucky wrapped up the game with a 40.6% field goal percentage (28 out of 69) and made 11 out of their 25 3-point attempts.

Brandon Newman is a guy who was a factor for the contest. He accounted for 19 points on 4 of 10 shooting. He played for 36 mins and collected 9 rebounds. He finished shooting 40.0% from the field and also recorded 5 dimes.

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Western Kentucky will enter this game with a mark of 6-3 for the season. They turn it over 13.1 times per game and as a unit are committing 20.6 personal fouls per contest. As a unit, Western Kentucky is pulling down 41.4 boards per game and is sitting with 108 assists for the year, which has them ranked 236th in the country in terms of passing. The Hilltoppers are shooting 28.6% on three-point attempts (54 of 189) and 71.3% from the free throw line. They average 80.9 pts per game (69th in the nation) while shooting 44.0% from the field.

On defense, the Hilltoppers are forcing 16.4 turnovers per game and they draw 18.4 fouls. They are conceding 28.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 248th in college basketball in points per game allowed (73.8). The Hilltoppers are giving up a FG percentage of 40.6% (226 of 557) and they concede 38.9 rebounds per contest as a squad. They are 237th in the country in allowing assists with 116 conceded this year.

For their last game, the Buffalo Bulls took a defeat with a final score of 72-59 when they played Butler. When it comes to how they cleaned up the glass, Buffalo allowed Butler to snag 36 in total (11 offensive). They shot 20.8% from beyond the arc by connecting on 5 of 24 and finished the contest at 7 of 10 at the free throw line (70.0%). The Bulls allowed Butler to convert 30 of 67 tries from the floor which left them shooting 44.8% for the contest. In all, the Bulls finished shooting 24 for 62 from the floor which gave them a rate of 38.7%. When it comes to shooting from downtown, Buffalo knocked down 6 of 26 attempts (23.1%). They were able to knock down 5 of them for a clip of 62.5%. Butler had 9 fouls in this matchup which took the Bulls to the charity stripe for a total of 8 shots. They gave up possession of the ball 14 times, while getting 8 steals in the matchup. The Bulls were able to pull down 24 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 31 for this contest.

Sy Chatman pitched in for the Bulls in this matchup. He made 7 of 11 in this game for a field goal rate of 63.6%, and accounted for 8 rebounds. He earned 16 points in his 23 minutes on the court and tallied 1 assist for the matchup.

Buffalo has a record of 1-8 for the campaign. The Bulls commit 15.2 personal fouls per contest and they hit 70.9% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 11.4 times per game (292nd in the country) and they are turning it over 17.6 times per game. Buffalo has scored 613 points for the year (68.1 per game) and they collect 36.8 boards per game. When it comes to offense, the Bulls are connecting on 41.7% from the field, which is ranked 293rd in the nation.

The Bulls defensively are ranked 349th in college basketball in points given up per game with 81.9. They are forcing their opponents into 10.7 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 49.7% from the floor (357th in college basketball). The Buffalo defense gives up 38.6% on shots from 3-point land (83 of 215) and their opponents are making 65.4% of their free throw shots. They relinquish 16.9 assists and 33.0 boards every game, ranking them 352nd and 98th in college basketball.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Buffalo

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