Denver Pioneers vs UMKC Kangaroos Prediction, 3/9/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Denver Pioneers vs UMKC Kangaroos

Date: Saturday, March 9, 2024

Location: Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, SD

TV: ESPN+

Denny Sanford Premier Center is the site where the UMKC Kangaroos (16-15) will try to defeat the Denver Pioneers (15-16) on Saturday.

The Denver Pioneers played St. Thomas and ended up losing by a score of 83-58 in their last contest. Denver finished the contest having earned a 40.7% FG percentage (24 of 59) and knocked down 6 of 28 3-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Pioneers knocked down 4 of 4 tries for a percentage of 100.0%. Concerning hauling in boards, they earned a total of 21 with 5 of them being offensive. They also distributed 11 assists for the game while forcing 6 turnovers and earning 4 steals. Concerning defending, Denver allowed 61.1% from the floor on 33 out of 54 shooting. St. Thomas totaled 20 assists and had 4 steals in the matchup. Furthermore, St. Thomas collected 29 rebounds (3 offensive, 26 defensive), but didn't have a block. St. Thomas finished the game at 70.0% when shooting free throws by knocking down 7 of 10 tries. They also converted 10 of their 18 shots from three-point range. When talking about personal fouls, the Pioneers finished with 15 and St. Thomas totaled 10 personal fouls.

DeAndre Craig is one player who was a major factor in the game. He went 45.5% from the field and also earned 1 assist. He played for 29 mins and also snagged 4 rebounds. He ended up finishing with 11 points on 5 of 11 shooting.

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Denver enters this game with a win-loss record of 15-16 this year. They are turning it over 10.1 times per game and as a team they are committing 16.6 personal fouls per contest. As a unit, Denver is pulling in 35.5 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 411 dimes this season, which has them ranked 149th in the nation in terms of passing. The Pioneers are shooting 35.3% on shots from downtown (265 of 750) and 74.2% from the free throw line. They are averaging 82.6 points per game (17th in college hoops) while shooting 45.6% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Pioneers are forcing 10.6 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.0 fouls. They are relinquishing 36.0% on shots from downtown and they rank 359th in college hoops in points per game from their opponents (81.9). The Pioneers defensively are allowing a field goal percentage of 47.2% (927 of 1,963) and they surrender 36.3 boards per game as a group. They currently rank 244th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 408 conceded on the campaign.

In their last game, the UMKC Kangaroos went home victorious with a score of 71-54 when they faced Oral Roberts. In regard to how they cleaned up the glass, UMKC allowed Oral Roberts to get 25 in total (5 offensive). They finished 28.6% from downtown by shooting 8 out of 28 and walked away from this one shooting 10 of 14 at the free throw line (71.4%). The Kangaroos permitted Oral Roberts to convert 18 of their 50 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 36.0% in this matchup. When this game wrapped up, the Kangaroos ended up going 26 out of 55 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 47.3%. Regarding three-point shots, UMKC made 6 of their 23 tries (26.1%). They were able to bury 13 of those for a clip of 86.7%. Oral Roberts committed 18 fouls for the contest which got the Kangaroos to the free throw line for 15 tries. They also coughed up the ball 11 times, while recording 6 steals for this game. The Kangaroos earned 27 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards totaling 33 for the game.

Jamar Brown ended up having an impact for the Kangaroos for the game. He buried 6 of 9 in the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 66.7%, and had 4 rebounds. He recorded 14 points in his 36 mins of playing time and tallied 1 assist for this game.

UMKC has a record of 16-15 on the year. When it comes to offense, the Kangaroos are shooting 43.1% from the floor, which is ranked 278th in the country. UMKC has totaled 2,240 pts so far this year (72.3 per contest) and they collect 36.1 rebounds per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 13.0 times per game (192nd in college hoops) and they turn it over 12.1 times per contest. The Kangaroos are responsible for committing 19.5 fouls per game and they hit 71.6% from the free throw line.

The UMKC defense surrenders 32.2% on shots from distance (196 of 608) and opponents are connecting on 71.2% of their foul shots. They concede 11.6 assists and 32.1 total rebounds per game, which has them ranked 82nd and 41st in D-1. The Kangaroos on the defensive end are ranked 108th in Division 1 in points given up per game with 69.5. They are forcing their opponents into 12.7 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 43.9% from the floor (198th in college basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take UMKC

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