Central Arkansas Bears vs Oklahoma Sooners Prediction, 12/22/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Central Arkansas Bears vs Oklahoma Sooners

Date: Sunday, December 22, 2024

Location: Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, OK

TV: ESPN+

The Central Arkansas Bears (3-8) are traveling to Lloyd Noble Center on Sunday where they will take on the Oklahoma Sooners (11-0).

The Central Arkansas Bears stepped onto the hardwood against The Citadel and notched a win by a score of 73-71 in their last game. Concerning personal fouls, the Bears finished with 12 and The Citadel had 13 personal fouls. They buried 16 out of their 35 shots from 3-point range. The Citadel walked away from this one shooting 55.6% when shooting free throws by knocking down 5 of their 9 shots. Furthermore, The Citadel collected 32 boards (5 offensive, 27 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. The Citadel distributed 21 dimes and had 3 steals for the matchup. When talking about defending, Central Arkansas allowed the other team to go 46.3% from the floor on 25 of 54 shooting. They also recorded 16 assists for the contest in addition to forcing the other team into 17 turnovers and earning 11 steals. In relation to rebounding, they collected a total of 32 with 10 of them being of the offensive variety. When they shot from the free throw line, the Bears knocked down 11 of their 13 tries for a percentage of 84.6%. Central Arkansas ended with a 38.8% FG percentage (26 of 67) and buried 10 of 32 3-point shots.

Layne Taylor is a guy who had an impact for the matchup. He ended up walking away with 21 points on 8 of 17 shooting. He played 34 mins played and also totaled 2 rebounds. He ended up shooting 47.1% from the field and distributed 3 assists.

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Central Arkansas will enter this matchup with a win-loss record of 3-8 this year. They have an average of 70.9 points per outing (282nd in Division 1) while connecting on 38.5% from the field. The Bears are shooting 27.8% on shots from downtown (99 of 356) and 72.4% from the charity stripe. As a team, Central Arkansas is pulling in 37.0 boards per game and has tallied 157 assists so far this season, which is 201st in the country in terms of passing. They lose possession via turnover 11.8 times per contest and as a unit they commit 14.1 fouls per contest.

When they are on defense, the Bears are able to force 14.0 turnovers per game while drawing 15.4 fouls. They rank 335th in the nation in giving up assists with 191 conceded on the year. The Bears are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 44.0% (296 of 672) and they concede 39.8 rebounds per game as a group. They are giving up 37.0% on 3-point attempts and they are 307th in the country in points per game allowed (76.8).

When they last played, the Oklahoma Sooners walked away with a victory by a final of 87-86 when they played Michigan. The Sooners earned 17 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards totaling 26 for the matchup. They also turned the ball over 11 times, while recording 8 steals for this game. Michigan committed 20 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Sooners to the free throw line for 24 tries. They were able to make 21 of the free throws for a rate of 87.5%. With respect to shots from 3-point land, Oklahoma made 12 of their 25 attempts (48.0%). In all, the Sooners finished 27 out of 57 from the field which had them shooting 47.4%. The Sooners permitted Michigan to convert 30 out of 64 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 46.9% for the game. They finished 14.3% from distance by connecting on 4 out of 28 and ended up shooting 22 of 26 from the free throw line (84.6%). In relation to rebounds, Oklahoma permitted Michigan to pull down 33 in total (14 offensive).

Jeremiah Fears ended up being important for the Sooners in the game. He earned 30 points in his 34 minutes on the hardwood and added 4 assists in this contest. He converted 8 of 12 for the contest giving him a rate of 66.7%, and had 3 rebounds.

Oklahoma has a win-loss mark of 11-0 this year. The Sooners have committed 16.9 personal fouls every game and they shoot 79.8% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.9 times per game (132nd in college hoops) and they are turning it over 11.5 times per game. Oklahoma has totaled 902 points this season (82.0 per contest) and they average 33.6 boards per game. As an offense, the Sooners are shooting 47.8% from the field, which ranks 70th in college hoops.

The Oklahoma defense gives up 27.1% on shots from behind the 3-point line (72 of 266) and opponents are knocking down 70.0% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 10.6 dimes and 33.8 boards every game, which has them ranked 46th and 148th in the country. The Sooners are ranked 97th in college in points given up per game with 67.7. They are forcing their opponents into 15.0 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 42.7% from the floor (168th in college hoops).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Central Arkansas

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