Belmont Bruins vs Southern Illinois Salukis Prediction, 1/2/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Belmont Bruins vs Southern Illinois Salukis

Date: Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Location: Banterra Center in Carbondale, IL

TV: ESPN+

The Belmont Bruins (9-4) are traveling to Banterra Center on Tuesday where they will meet the Southern Illinois Salukis (8-4).

The Belmont Bruins faced Arkansas State and walked away with a win by a score of 74-70 in their last contest. Belmont walked away from the game with a 48.3% FG percentage (28 of 58) and made 4 out of their 18 shots from downtown. From the charity stripe, the Bruins converted 14 of their 20 shots for a rate of 70.0%. Concerning rebounding, they compiled 28 with 4 of them being offensive. They also recorded 12 assists in this contest in addition to forcing 15 turnovers and having 12 steals. Concerning defense, Belmont allowed the other team to go 40.0% from the floor on 26 out of 65 shooting. Arkansas State earned 17 assists and had 7 steals in this game. On top of that, Arkansas State collected 42 boards (13 offensive, 29 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Arkansas State ended up shooting 66.7% at the free throw line by converting 6 of 9 attempts. They made 12 of 39 shots from beyond the arc. When it comes to fouls, the Bruins walked away with 14 and Arkansas State finished the game with 20 fouls.

Malik Dia is one guy who came through for the matchup. He ended up scoring 18 points on 7 of 15 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 22 minutes and totaled 10 rebounds. He went 46.7% from the floor but wasn't able to get a dime.

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Belmont heads into this game with a win-loss record of 9-4 for the year. They lose possession via turnover 13.5 times per contest and as a team they are committing 15.5 fouls every game. As a unit, Belmont is snagging 34.4 boards per game and is sitting with 196 dimes on the year, which is 65th in college hoops in terms of passing. The Bruins are connecting on 37.5% on shots from beyond the arc (111 of 296) and 69.5% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 81.1 pts per game (56th in D-1) while shooting 49.5% from the floor.

Defensively, the Bruins are forcing their opponents into 12.6 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 17.1 fouls. They are relinquishing 32.0% from 3-point land and they are ranked 334th in college basketball in points per game allowed (79.2). The Bruins defensively are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 45.6% (390 of 855) and they relinquish 36.8 boards per game as a team. They are 345th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 206 conceded for the year.

The last time they took the court, the Southern Illinois Salukis got the win with a final of 81-50 against Southern Indiana. In relation to rebounding, Southern Illinois allowed Southern Indiana to grab 34 in all (12 on the offensive side). They wrapped up this game 22.2% from three-point range by connecting on 4 out of 18 and ended up going 18 out of 26 from the charity stripe (69.2%). The Salukis permitted Southern Indiana to convert 14 of their 55 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 25.5% for this game. When all was said and done, the Salukis finished the game shooting 25 out of 48 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 52.1%. In regard to shooting from 3-point land, Southern Illinois made 9 of their 22 attempts (40.9%). They were able to make 22 of those for a clip of 75.9%. Southern Indiana had 21 personal fouls for this game which got the Salukis to the charity stripe for 29 attempts. They also turned the ball over 10 times, while getting 3 steals in this contest. The Salukis were able to corral 24 defensive rebounds and 5 offensive boards for a total of 29 in the game.

Xavier Johnson ended up being a factor for the Salukis for this game. He earned 16 points in his 32 mins of playing time and had 8 dimes for the matchup. He made 3 out of 4 in the game for a rate of 75.0%, and totaled 7 rebounds.

Southern Illinois has a win-loss record of 8-4 so far this season. The Salukis have committed 18.3 fouls every game and they shoot 73.6% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 15.4 times per contest (88th in D-1) and they turn it over 10.8 times per contest. Southern Illinois has earned 919 pts for the season (76.6 per game) and they pull in 32.5 rebounds per contest. On the offensive side of the ball, the Salukis are shooting 48.4% from the field, which ranks them 41st in the nation.

The Salukis are ranked 48th in the nation in points allowed per contest with 64.6. They are able to force 11.9 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 42.0% from the field (153rd in college basketball). The Southern Illinois defense concedes 27.4% on shots from beyond the arc (57 of 208) and their opposition makes 69.1% of their foul shots. They have allowed 10.0 dimes and 32.8 boards every game, which is ranked 29th and 91st in Division 1.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Belmont

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