Buffalo Bulls vs Central Michigan Chippewas Prediction, 1/2/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Buffalo Bulls vs Central Michigan Chippewas

Date: Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Location: McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant, MI

TV: ESPN+

The Buffalo Bulls (1-10) are headed to McGuirk Arena on Tuesday where they will take on the Central Michigan Chippewas (5-6).

The Buffalo Bulls faced Richmond and went home with a loss by a final score of 72-66 in their last contest. Concerning fouls, the Bulls ended up walking away with 14 while Richmond accounted for 10 fouls. They buried 5 of their 19 attempts from downtown. Richmond shot 72.2% from the charity stripe by making 13 of their 18 attempts. Additionally, Richmond snagged 43 rebounds (4 offensive, 39 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Richmond earned 14 dimes and had 2 steals in the game. With regard to defense, Buffalo let their opponent shoot 45.8% from the floor on 27 of 59 shooting. They also doled out 13 assists for this game while creating 8 turnovers and having 2 steals. In relation to hauling in rebounds, they compiled 36 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. From the free throw line, the Bulls converted 7 of 12 tries for a rate of 58.3%. Buffalo wrapped up the game with a 36.1% field goal percentage (26 of 72) and made 7 of their 37 three-point attempts.

Sy Chatman is one player who was a contributor for the matchup. He shot 44.4% from the floor and dished out 2 dimes. He played 29 minutes and collected 5 boards. He ended up walking away with 21 points on 8 of 18 shooting.

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Buffalo heads into this matchup with a mark of 1-10 on the season. They turn it over 16.5 times per contest and as a team are committing 15.3 personal fouls per game. As a unit, Buffalo is grabbing 37.4 boards per game and has earned 131 assists so far this year, which is 330th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Bulls are connecting on 24.9% on shots from beyond the arc (69 of 277) and 70.6% from the free throw line. They have an average of 67.6 pts per game (318th in the nation) while going 40.5% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Bulls are forcing 10.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 15.9 personal fouls. They are surrendering 36.3% on 3-pointers while they are 350th in college basketball in PPG allowed (81.0). The Bulls defensively are allowing a FG percentage of 48.8% (332 of 680) and they relinquish 35.4 rebounds per game as a squad. They are 314th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 186 conceded on the year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Central Michigan Chippewas got the victory with a final of 75-63 when they played Detroit. The Chippewas earned 28 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 37 in the matchup. They also coughed up the ball 15 times, while recording 5 steals in this matchup. Detroit was called for 16 personal fouls for the game which took the Chippewas to the free throw line for 15 shots. They were able to bury 11 of the free throws for a clip of 73.3%. In reference to shots from downtown, Central Michigan made 10 of their 20 tries (50.0%). When the final whistle blew, the Chippewas finished 27 out of 58 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.6%. The Chippewas permitted Detroit to convert 19 of their 60 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 31.7% in this matchup. They finished shooting 16.7% from distance by going 5 out of 30 and ended up shooting 20 of 26 at the charity stripe (76.9%). When it comes to cleaning up the glass, Central Michigan allowed Detroit to pull down 33 overall (11 on the offensive glass).

Brian Taylor pitched in for the Chippewas for this contest. He earned 19 points in his 36 minutes on the hardwood and earned 2 assists in the matchup. He converted 6 out of 12 for the contest for a rate of 50.0%, and had 11 rebounds.

Central Michigan has a record of 5-6 for the year. As an offense, the Chippewas are hitting on 44.1% from the field, which has them ranked 218th in college hoops. Central Michigan has accounted for 750 points on the year (68.2 per game) and they grab 32.9 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 11.5 times per game (313th in the country) and they turn it over 14.3 times per game. The Chippewas commit 16.5 fouls per game and they connect on 64.8% from the charity stripe.

The Central Michigan defense gives up 34.1% on shots from 3-point land (90 of 264) and opponents are connecting on 77.7% of their free throw attempts. They have surrendered 15.7 dimes and 35.5 total rebounds per game, which is ranked 337th and 210th in Division 1. The Chippewas are ranked 302nd in college hoops in points per game surrendered with 76.4. They have forced 13.1 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.4% from the field (329th in college hoops).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Buffalo

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