Evansville Purple Aces vs Belmont Bruins Prediction, 3/3/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Evansville Purple Aces vs Belmont Bruins

Date: Sunday, March 3, 2024

Location: Curb Event Center Arena in Nashville, TN

TV: ESPN+

The Belmont Bruins (18-12) will compete against the Evansville Purple Aces (15-15) at Curb Event Center Arena on Sunday.

The Evansville Purple Aces took the court against Indiana State and ended up losing by a score of 85-67 in their last contest. Concerning fouls, the Purple Aces finished with 12 and Indiana State recorded 16 fouls. They converted 13 out of their 32 tries from beyond the perimeter. Indiana State finished 83.3% from the free throw line by burying 10 of their 12 shots. In addition, Indiana State snagged 33 rebounds (7 offensive, 26 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Indiana State recorded 25 dimes and had 5 steals in the matchup. In terms of defense, Evansville allowed their opponent to shoot 50.8% from the floor on 31 out of 61 shooting. They also doled out 6 assists for this contest in addition to forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and having 8 steals. In terms of pulling down boards, they collected a total of 26 with 5 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Purple Aces converted 15 of their 16 tries for a rate of 93.8%. Evansville ended the game having earned a 38.3% FG percentage (23 out of 60) and buried 6 of their 18 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Kenny Strawbridge is one player who was a factor for this contest. He ended up shooting 44.4% from the floor and also recorded 2 assists. He played for 23 mins and pulled down 5 boards. He totaled 14 points on 4 of 9 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Basketball Picks Today

Evansville enters this contest with a mark of 15-15 on the season. They average 72.6 pts per contest (221st in D-1) while going 45.6% from the field. The Purple Aces are connecting on 35.0% on shots from downtown (206 of 589) and 71.9% from the free throw line. As a team, Evansville is snagging 33.8 boards per game and has 400 assists for the season, which ranks 120th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They are losing possession via turnover 11.6 times per game and as a squad they commit 14.8 personal fouls per game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Purple Aces are able to force 12.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 16.3 personal fouls. They give up 35.6% on shots from distance while they are 239th in college hoops in points per game allowed (73.8). The Purple Aces are allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 44.2% (793 of 1,793) and they concede 35.2 boards per game as a squad. They are 323rd in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 424 surrendered on the year.

In their last game, the Belmont Bruins got the victory with a final of 83-61 when they played Murray State. The Bruins were able to pull down 25 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards totaling 32 in this contest. They also coughed it up 7 times, while recording 6 steals for the contest. Murray State committed 13 personal fouls for the matchup which took the Bruins to the charity stripe for 9 tries. They were able to knock down 7 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 77.8%. In the matter of 3-point shots, Belmont made 12 out of 26 attempts (46.2%). When this game wrapped up, the Bruins went 32 for 60 from the floor which had them shooting 53.3%. The Bruins permitted Murray State to knock down 24 out of 56 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 42.9% in this game. They went 25.0% from distance via 4 of 16 and ended up going 9 of 15 from the free throw line (60.0%). In reference to rebounding, Belmont allowed Murray State to collect 31 overall (8 on the offensive side).

Malik Dia ended up being a major contributor for the Bruins in this game. He scored 25 points in his 26 minutes on the hardwood, but went home with no dimes. He knocked down 10 of 16 for this contest for a rate of 62.5%, and added 8 rebounds.

Belmont has a record of 18-12 for the season. The Bruins are responsible for committing 15.5 personal fouls per contest and they hit 73.2% from the free throw line. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 15.1 times per game (67th in D-1) and they are losing possession via turnover 12.3 times per game. Belmont has totaled 2,339 points on the year (78.0 per contest) and they pull in 33.7 boards per contest. As an offense, the Bruins are shooting 47.6% from the field, which ranks them 36th in the nation.

The Bruins defensively are ranked 307th in college basketball in points given up per game with 76.6. They are forcing 12.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 45.6% from the floor (305th in college hoops). The Belmont defense concedes 33.7% on 3-point attempts (252 of 748) and their opponents are making 72.0% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have given up 15.3 assists and 35.4 total boards per game, which is 341st and 217th in the nation.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Evansville

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here