East Carolina Pirates vs UAB Blazers Prediction, 1/20/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: East Carolina Pirates vs UAB Blazers

Date: Saturday, January 20, 2024

Location: Bartow Arena in Birmingham, AL

TV: ESPN+

Bartow Arena is where the UAB Blazers (11-6) will try to defeat the East Carolina Pirates (9-9) on Saturday.

The East Carolina Pirates faced North Texas and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 60-59 in their last contest. East Carolina walked away from the contest with a 41.7% FG percentage (20 of 48) and converted 8 of their 22 3-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Pirates knocked down 11 of their 18 shots for a rate of 61.1%. When discussing hauling in rebounds, they earned 25 with 5 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 12 dimes for this game while forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and getting 8 steals. With regard to defense, East Carolina allowed the other team to go 40.0% from the field on 24 out of 60 shooting. North Texas distributed 10 dimes and had 4 steals in the game. On top of that, North Texas snagged 35 boards (14 offensive, 21 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. North Texas went 77.8% when shooting free throws by converting 7 of 9 attempts. They also buried 5 out of their 24 shots from long range. Regarding personal fouls, the Pirates ended up finishing with 11 while North Texas recorded 12 personal fouls.

RJ Felton is one player who was a major factor in this game. He scored 16 points on 6 of 16 shooting. He was on the court for 34 mins played and collected 6 boards. He walked away from this one shooting 37.5% from the floor and totaled 2 assists.

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East Carolina will take the court with a mark of 9-9 for the year. They lose possession via turnover 10.7 times per contest and as a basketball team they are committing 15.8 fouls every game. As a team, East Carolina is pulling in 35.4 rebounds per game and has racked up 212 dimes this season, which is 261st in college basketball in terms of passing the ball. The Pirates are shooting 31.0% on three-point shots (117 of 377) and 69.3% from the free throw line. They are averaging 71.4 points per outing (258th in Division 1) while hitting 43.3% from the field.

Defensively, the Pirates are forcing their opponents into 12.9 turnovers per game while drawing 17.4 fouls. They are 203rd in Division 1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 224 surrendered for the season. The Pirates defense is giving up a FG percentage of 43.4% (440 of 1,014) and they concede 34.6 boards per game as a squad. They are surrendering 30.8% on 3-pointers while they are 115th in Division 1 in opponents PPG (69.1).

In their last game, the UAB Blazers went home victorious with a score of 83-69 when they played Tulane. The Blazers were able to snag 36 defensive boards and 13 offensive boards for a total of 49 in the game. They gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while getting 7 steals in this matchup. Tulane had 17 personal fouls for the contest which got the Blazers to the charity stripe for 17 tries. They were able to make 9 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 52.9%. When it comes to shooting from distance, UAB knocked down 6 of 22 attempts (27.3%). In all, the Blazers walked away from this one shooting 34 out of 70 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 48.6%. The Blazers permitted Tulane to bury 23 of 58 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 39.7% in this contest. They shot 31.8% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 7 out of 22 and finished the game at 16 of 20 at the free throw line (80.0%). When it comes to team rebounding, UAB allowed Tulane to get 29 in total (1 on the offensive side).

Alejandro Vasquez ended up being important for the Blazers for the game. He knocked down 10 out of 17 for the contest for a rate of 58.8%, and added 6 rebounds. He recorded 28 points in his 31 mins of playing time and had 1 assist in this game.

UAB has a record of 11-6 on the campaign. The Blazers are committing 15.9 personal fouls every game and they go 74.0% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 12.8 times per contest (240th in the country) and they cough up possession 11.5 times per contest. UAB has accounted for 1,316 points for the campaign (77.4 per game) and they grab 39.5 rebounds per contest. As an offensive unit, the Blazers are shooting 43.7% from the field, which is ranked 240th in the nation.

The Blazers on the defensive side of the court are 290th in college hoops in points allowed per contest with 75.8. They are forcing 11.5 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 45.0% from the field (285th in D-1). The UAB defense concedes 34.4% on shots from behind the 3-point line (134 of 390) and their opponents are converting on 71.9% of their foul shots. They have relinquished 13.5 dimes and 34.6 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 231st and 163rd in D-1.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take East Carolina

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