Central Michigan Chippewas vs Arizona Wildcats Prediction, 12/21/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Central Michigan Chippewas vs Arizona Wildcats

Date: Saturday, December 21, 2024

Location: McKale Center in Tucson, AZ

TV: ESPN+

McKale Center is the location where the Arizona Wildcats (5-5) will take on the Central Michigan Chippewas (5-5) on Saturday.

The Central Michigan Chippewas faced Mississippi State and took a loss by a score of 83-59 in their last game. In reference to personal fouls, the Chippewas walked away with 9 and Mississippi State racked up 14 personal fouls. They also made 11 out of their 29 shots from distance. Mississippi State finished shooting 28.6% from the charity stripe by converting 2 of their 7 attempts. Furthermore, Mississippi State grabbed 41 rebounds (14 offensive, 27 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Mississippi State recorded 24 dimes and had 8 steals in this matchup. In terms of the defense, Central Michigan allowed their opponent to shoot 49.3% from the floor on 35 out of 71 shooting. They also doled out 16 dimes for this game in addition to forcing the other team into 5 turnovers and earning 5 steals. With regard to rebounding, they collected 30 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Chippewas knocked down 11 of 12 shots for a percentage of 91.7%. Central Michigan ended the game with a 34.5% FG percentage (20 of 58) and knocked down 8 out of their 26 3-pointers.

Jakobi Heady is one player who was a factor for this game. He finished shooting 41.2% from the field and distributed 2 dimes. He played for 38 minutes and also collected 6 boards. He finished with 18 points on 7 out of 17 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Parlay Picks

Central Michigan enters this contest with a mark of 5-5 this season. They have an average of 77.3 points per game (145th in college) while shooting 46.4% from the field. The Chippewas are shooting 33.9% on shots beyond the perimeter (84 of 248) and 70.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Central Michigan is collecting 38.5 boards per game and has tallied 155 dimes this season, which is 212th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They are giving up possession 14.2 times per game and as a group they commit 16.9 personal fouls per contest.

On defense, the Chippewas have forced 12.5 turnovers per game and they draw 17.8 fouls. They are ranked 99th in the nation in allowing assists to the opposition with 132 surrendered this season. The Chippewas are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 41.2% (247 of 600) and they surrender 32.6 boards per game as a squad. They are giving up 30.5% on three-point shots and they are 196th in college hoops in opponents points per game (71.6).

In their last game, the Arizona Wildcats took home the win by a final score of 96-64 when they faced Samford. The Wildcats were able to corral 29 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards totaling 39 in this contest. They also turned it over 14 times, while earning 10 steals in this matchup. Samford committed 20 fouls for the matchup which took the Wildcats to the charity stripe for a total of 31 attempts. They were able to convert 25 of the free throws for a percentage of 80.6%. In terms of shots from beyond the arc, Arizona converted 7 of 22 tries (31.8%). Overall, the Wildcats walked away from this one shooting 32 for 55 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 58.2%. The Wildcats allowed Samford to make 22 out of their 60 tries from the field which had them sitting at 36.7% in the matchup. They finished 34.3% from three-point range by shooting 12 out of 35 and finished the contest at 8 out of 15 at the free throw line (53.3%). When it comes to how they attacked the glass, Arizona permitted Samford to grab 19 in total (7 on the offensive side).

Caleb Love ended up being a major contributor for the Wildcats for the game. He totaled 23 points in his 34 mins of playing time and had 4 assists for the game. He buried 7 out of 14 in this game for a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and totaled 5 rebounds.

Arizona has a record of 5-5 for the campaign. As an offense, the Wildcats are hitting on 47.6% from the floor, which is 77th in D-1. Arizona has tallied 847 pts for the year (84.7 per game) and they grab 42.7 rebounds per contest. They are assisting teammates 16.2 times per contest (68th in college hoops) and they cough up possession 12.9 times per game. The Wildcats have committed 17.3 personal fouls per game and they connect on 73.9% from the charity stripe.

The Wildcats defensively are ranked 157th in college in points allowed per game with 70.3. They are forcing 14.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 40.3% from the field (68th in D-1). The Arizona defense gives up 34.2% on 3-point shots (94 of 275) and their opponents are making 70.1% of their foul shots. They surrender 13.9 assists and 31.2 rebounds every game, ranking them 251st and 43rd in those categories.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Arizona and under the total points

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here