DePaul Blue Demons vs Northwestern Wildcats Prediction, 12/21/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: DePaul Blue Demons vs Northwestern Wildcats

Date: Saturday, December 21, 2024

Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, IL

TV: BTN

Welsh-Ryan Arena is the site where the Northwestern Wildcats (8-3) will go up against the DePaul Blue Demons (8-3) on Saturday.

The DePaul Blue Demons stepped onto the hardwood against St. John's and went home with a loss by a final score of 89-61 in their last game. DePaul finished the contest with a 39.2% FG percentage (20 of 51) and buried 6 of 20 3-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Blue Demons converted 15 of 21 tries for a rate of 71.4%. Regarding grabbing boards, they compiled a total of 25 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 8 dimes for the game while forcing 9 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In relation to defending, DePaul let their opponent shoot 55.2% from the floor on 37 out of 67 shooting. St. John's distributed 19 assists and had 14 steals in the game. Additionally, St. John's pulled down 39 rebounds (15 offensive, 24 defensive), but didn't notch a block. St. John's went 57.1% from the charity stripe by knocking down 12 of 21 attempts. They buried 3 of 10 tries from distance. In the matter of fouls, the Blue Demons ended up walking away with 18 while St. John's accounted for 16 fouls.

Layden Blocker is a guy who came through for this game. He finished 45.5% from the field and also earned 2 assists. He saw the court for 27 minutes and pulled down 4 boards. He accumulated 17 points on 5 out of 11 shooting.

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DePaul enters this game with a record of 8-3 on the year. They turn it over 13.5 times per contest and as a group are committing 16.3 personal fouls per contest. As a team, DePaul is collecting 38.2 boards per contest and has earned 207 assists so far this season, which is 24th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Blue Demons are shooting 39.8% on three-point attempts (134 of 337) and 68.5% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 81.2 points per game (68th in college) while shooting 47.1% from the field.

On defense, the Blue Demons are forcing 12.1 turnovers per contest and they draw 15.5 fouls. They currently rank 147th in the country in allowing assists to the opposition with 139 surrendered for the season. The Blue Demons defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 41.9% (284 of 678) and they surrender 33.5 rebounds per contest as a team. They give up 29.6% on shots from downtown and they rank 121st in D-1 in points per game from their opponents (68.8).

In their last game, the Northwestern Wildcats walked away with a victory by a final of 71-60 when they played Georgia Tech. The Wildcats were able to corral 24 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 30 in the game. They coughed it up 6 times, while earning 9 steals in this contest. Georgia Tech committed 15 personal fouls for this game which took the Wildcats to the free throw line for a total of 16 shots. They were able to convert 10 of those for a percentage of 62.5%. In regard to shots from beyond the arc, Northwestern knocked down 9 out of their 22 tries (40.9%). When the final whistle blew, the Wildcats shot 26 for 65 from the floor which had them sitting at 40.0%. The Wildcats permitted Georgia Tech to knock down 22 of their 56 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 39.3% in the matchup. They finished shooting 29.2% from beyond the perimeter by connecting on 7 out of 24 and ended up going 9 out of 13 at the free throw line (69.2%). When talking about how they cleaned up the glass, Northwestern permitted Georgia Tech to collect 38 in total (6 on the offensive side).

Brooks Barnhizer was important for the Wildcats for this contest. He recorded 20 points in his 37 minutes on the hardwood and tallied 3 assists for the contest. He made 6 of 18 in this contest giving him a rate of 33.3%, and had 10 rebounds.

Northwestern has a record of 8-3 on the campaign. The Wildcats are committing 17.1 fouls every game while shooting 72.0% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 14.5 times per game (165th in the country) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 9.3 times per game. Northwestern has totaled 801 pts on the campaign (72.8 per contest) and they snag 36.8 boards per game. When it comes to offense, the Wildcats are shooting 43.8% from the floor, which ranks 238th in the country.

The Northwestern defense allows 30.4% on 3-point attempts (72 of 237) and their opponents are making 67.8% of their foul shots. They have given up 15.0 dimes and 33.9 total boards per game, which ranks 306th and 150th in those defensive categories. The Wildcats on defense are ranked 33rd in D-1 in PPG allowed with 64.2. They are able to force 13.6 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 41.9% from the floor (125th in college hoops).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take DePaul

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