Drake Bulldogs vs Belmont Bruins Prediction, 1/7/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Drake Bulldogs vs Belmont Bruins

Date: Sunday, January 7, 2024

Location: Curb Event Center Arena in Nashville, TN

TV: ESPN+

The Belmont Bruins (9-5) will compete against the Drake Bulldogs (12-2) at Curb Event Center Arena on Sunday.

The Drake Bulldogs faced Illinois State and earned the victory with a final of 88-71 in their last game. In the matter of fouls, the Bulldogs finished with 17 while Illinois State recorded 19 fouls. They buried 9 of their 21 attempts from downtown. Illinois State shot 66.7% at the free throw line by burying 10 of 15 tries. Furthermore, Illinois State totaled 24 boards (5 offensive, 19 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Illinois State recorded 9 dimes and had 6 steals for the matchup. In reference to the defense, Drake allowed the other team to go 48.1% from the field on 26 of 54 shooting. They also recorded 16 assists in the game in addition to forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and earning 3 steals. When talking about hauling in rebounds, they earned 32 with 7 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Bulldogs made 12 of their 22 tries for a rate of 54.5%. Drake finished the game having earned a 57.1% FG percentage (32 of 56) and made 12 of 25 3-pointers.

Tucker DeVries is a guy who had an impact in this game. He finished shooting 57.1% from the field and also dished out 6 assists. He saw the court for 30 mins and snagged 4 rebounds. He was able to score 22 points on 8 of 14 shooting.

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Drake enters this matchup with a record of 12-2 on the year. They average 79.4 pts per game (79th in college basketball) while hitting 47.4% from the floor. The Bulldogs are hitting 34.2% on shots from downtown (119 of 348) and 76.9% from the free throw line. As a team, Drake is pulling in 34.6 rebounds per game and has earned 227 dimes for the year, which ranks 51st in college basketball in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 10.0 times per game and as a unit they commit 16.1 fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Bulldogs have forced 14.1 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.9 fouls. They currently rank 22nd in D-1 in giving up assists with 135 surrendered this year. The Bulldogs are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 44.4% (346 of 780) and they concede 32.1 boards per game as a unit. They are conceding 32.9% on 3-pointers and they are 101st in the country in points per game allowed (67.2).

The last time they took the court, the Belmont Bruins took a loss by a score of 73-63 when they played Southern Illinois. When it comes to rebounding, Belmont allowed Southern Illinois to collect 35 in total (6 on the offensive glass). They finished 19.0% from three-point range by shooting 4 out of 21 and ended up going 23 of 24 at the charity stripe (95.8%). The Bruins allowed Southern Illinois to knock down 23 out of 57 attempts from the floor which had them at 40.4% for the game. When the game finished, the Bruins went 22 out of 60 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 36.7%. In reference to shooting from distance, Belmont made 6 of their 28 attempts (21.4%). They were able to knock down 13 of the free throw tries for a clip of 72.2%. Southern Illinois committed 14 personal fouls for this contest which took the Bruins to the free throw line for 18 tries. They turned it over 10 times, while recording 8 steals for this game. The Bruins were able to snag 25 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards for a total of 32 in this game.

Malik Dia ended up being a factor for the Bruins for the game. He totaled 25 points in his 25 minutes of playing time and added 1 assist in this game. He converted 10 of 17 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 58.8%, and had 7 rebounds.

Belmont has a record of 9-5 for the year. The Bruins are committing 15.4 fouls every game and they shoot 69.7% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 15.1 times per game (103rd in the nation) and they are giving up possession 13.2 times per game. Belmont has tallied 1,117 pts so far this season (79.8 per contest) and they pull in 34.4 boards per contest. As an offensive team, the Bruins are hitting on 48.6% from the field, which is ranked 36th in the nation.

The Belmont defense concedes 31.3% on shots from beyond the arc (111 of 355) and opponents are making 71.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have relinquished 15.7 assists and 36.9 boards every game, ranking them 338th and 271st in those categories on the defensive end. The Bruins on the defensive end are ranked 333rd in D-1 in PPG given up with 78.7. They have forced 12.6 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 45.3% from the field (302nd in college basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Belmont

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