Eastern Kentucky Colonels vs Louisville Cardinals Prediction, 12/28/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Eastern Kentucky Colonels vs Louisville Cardinals

Date: Saturday, December 28, 2024

Location: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, KY

TV: ESPN+

The Louisville Cardinals (7-5) are welcoming the Eastern Kentucky Colonels (6-6) at KFC Yum! Center on Saturday.

The Eastern Kentucky Colonels stepped onto the hardwood against Jacksonville State and went home with a loss by a final score of 91-80 in their last contest. Eastern Kentucky walked away from the contest having earned a 39.4% field goal percentage (28 out of 71) and buried 7 out of their 30 shots from 3-point land. From the charity stripe, the Colonels knocked down 17 of 19 shots for a percentage of 89.5%. In terms of grabbing rebounds, they earned 32 with 15 of them being offensive. They also dished out 8 assists in this contest while creating 10 turnovers and having 8 steals. Concerning defense, Eastern Kentucky let their opponent shoot 45.6% from the field on 31 of 68 shooting. Jacksonville State dished out 18 assists and had 4 steals in the matchup. Moreover, Jacksonville State snagged 43 boards (19 offensive, 24 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Jacksonville State walked away from this one shooting 77.3% at the free throw line by converting 17 of 22 shots. They converted 12 of 24 tries from beyond the perimeter. With respect to personal fouls, the Colonels ended up with 15 while Jacksonville State totaled 14 personal fouls.

Devontae Blanton is one guy who was a contributor in this contest. He finished with 36 points on 13 out of 26 shooting. He saw the court for 38 minutes played and also grabbed 3 rebounds. He ended up shooting 50.0% from the field and dished out 3 assists.

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Eastern Kentucky comes into this one with a win-loss record of 6-6 so far this season. They cough up possession 11.2 times per contest and as a team they commit 17.0 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Eastern Kentucky is pulling down 38.3 boards per game and is sitting with 162 dimes for the year, which ranks 234th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. The Colonels are connecting on 31.8% from downtown (113 of 355) and 66.5% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 77.0 points per contest (159th in the country) while connecting on 41.9% from the field.

Defensively, the Colonels are forcing their opponents into 15.6 turnovers per game and they draw 15.4 fouls. They relinquish 35.6% from beyond the arc while they are 278th in the nation in PPG from their opponents (75.0). The Colonels defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 46.8% (325 of 695) and they relinquish 38.3 rebounds per game as a group. They are currently ranked 186th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 160 conceded for the year.

In their last game, the Louisville Cardinals took home the win by a final score of 90-76 when they faced Florida State. When it comes to cleaning up the glass, Louisville allowed Florida State to pull down 17 overall (2 on the offensive glass). They went 40.0% from downtown by going 8 of 20 and ended up going 10 out of 14 from the free throw line (71.4%). The Cardinals allowed Florida State to make 29 of their 55 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 52.7% in this matchup. Overall, the Cardinals ended up shooting 28 out of 55 from the field which gave them a percentage of 50.9%. When discussing shots from distance, Louisville converted 15 of their 29 tries (51.7%). They were able to convert 19 of the free throws for a percentage of 82.6%. Florida State was called for 19 fouls in this contest which got the Cardinals to the free throw line for a total of 23 shots. They gave up possession of the ball 6 times, while recording 4 steals in this game. The Cardinals recorded 21 defensive rebounds and 3 offensive boards for a total of 24 for this game.

Reyne Smith ended up being a major contributor for the Cardinals for the contest. He tallied 27 points in his 30 minutes on the court and had 1 assist for the contest. He made 8 of 12 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 66.7%, and added 1 rebound.

Louisville has a win-loss mark of 7-5 on the year. The Cardinals have committed 16.8 fouls per game and they connect on 71.7% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 13.4 times per contest (231st in Division 1) and they are turning it over 12.1 times per game. Louisville has earned 936 pts this year (78.0 per game) and they collect 37.3 boards per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Cardinals are connecting on 43.3% from the floor, which ranks them 263rd in college hoops.

The Cardinals defensively are ranked 186th in college in PPG allowed with 71.3. They are forcing 14.6 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 45.1% from the field (278th in Division 1). The Louisville defense gives up 35.8% on 3-point shots (96 of 268) and their opponents are making 68.2% of their free throw attempts. They surrender 12.4 dimes and 33.8 rebounds every game, which has them ranked 137th and 153rd in Division 1.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Eastern Kentucky

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