Grambling Tigers vs Montana State Bobcats Prediction, 3/20/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Grambling Tigers vs Montana State Bobcats

Date: Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Location: UD Arena in Dayton, OH

TV: truTV

Odds/Point Spread: Grambling (-3)

The Grambling Tigers (20-14) are on their way to UD Arena on Wednesday where they will try to defeat the Montana State Bobcats (17-17) in the NCAA Tournament. Montana State opens this game as 3-point underdogs from Vegas oddsmakers. The betting total comes in at 134.5.

The Grambling Tigers stepped onto the hardwood against Texas Southern and earned the victory with a final of 75-66 in their last contest. When talking about personal fouls, the Tigers walked away with 16 and Texas Southern had 20 personal fouls. They buried 4 out of their 22 shots from beyond the perimeter. Texas Southern shot 72.7% from the free throw line by burying 16 of 22 shots. Moreover, Texas Southern grabbed 21 rebounds (6 offensive, 15 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Texas Southern distributed 7 dimes and had 5 steals in the game. Regarding defending, Grambling allowed the other team to go 42.6% from the field on 23 of 54 shooting. They also doled out 16 assists for this game as well as forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and getting 9 steals. When it comes to pulling down rebounds, they earned 25 with 6 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the Tigers knocked down 21 of 31 tries for a percentage of 67.7%. Grambling ended the contest having earned a 48.9% field goal percentage (23 out of 47) and buried 8 of their 19 shots from beyond the arc.

Jourdan Smith is a player who was a contributor in this contest. He walked away with 20 points on 5 of 11 shooting. He saw the court for 36 mins played and collected 3 rebounds. He finished the contest at 45.5% from the field and also distributed 2 dimes.

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Grambling comes into this matchup with a win-loss record of 20-14 this year. They average 67.6 pts per contest (321st in D-1) while hitting 44.0% from the field. The Tigers are shooting 33.9% on shots beyond the perimeter (178 of 525) and 70.6% from the free throw line. As a team, Grambling is grabbing 32.2 boards per contest and is sitting with 332 dimes for the year, which has them ranked 345th in college basketball in terms of passing. They cough up possession 13.4 times per contest and as a team are committing 16.0 personal fouls per contest.

When they are on the defensive end, the Tigers are able to force 12.9 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.5 personal fouls. They give up 33.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 90th in college hoops in PPG from their opponents (69.0). The Tigers defensively are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 43.3% (833 of 1,925) and they concede 33.2 boards per game as a basketball team. They rank 279th in college basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 454 surrendered on the campaign.

In their last game, the Montana State Bobcats went home victorious with a score of 85-70 against Montana. Concerning rebounding, Montana State permitted Montana to get 34 in all (9 on the offensive glass). They went 33.3% from three-point range via 6 of 18 and finished the game at 16 of 22 from the free throw line (72.7%). The Bobcats permitted Montana to convert 24 of their 53 tries from the floor which left them with a rate of 45.3% in the game. When this game wrapped up, the Bobcats finished the game shooting 32 out of 64 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 50.0%. When discussing shooting from 3-point land, Montana State made 6 out of 23 tries (26.1%). They were able to knock down 15 of the free throw tries for a rate of 68.2%. Montana committed 15 personal fouls in this game which got the Bobcats to the free throw line for a total of 22 attempts. They also gave up possession of the ball 3 times, while earning 8 steals in the game. The Bobcats were able to pull down 22 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 29 for the matchup.

Robert Ford ended up being a major contributor for the Bobcats in this game. He tallied 22 points in his 35 mins on the court and had 4 dimes for the contest. He converted 8 out of 13 in this game giving him a field goal percentage of 61.5%, and totaled 9 rebounds.

Montana State has a mark of 17-17 for the season. On the offensive side of the court, the Bobcats are connecting on 46.6% from the floor, which ranks 67th in Division 1. Montana State has scored 2,554 pts on the season (75.1 per contest) and they snag 30.6 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 13.1 times per game (181st in the nation) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 11.6 times per contest. The Bobcats are responsible for committing 18.5 personal fouls per contest and they connect on 73.3% from the free throw line.

The Bobcats on defense are ranked 251st in college hoops in points given up per game with 74.1. They are forcing 13.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 46.5% from the field (333rd in the country). The Montana State defense allows 33.4% on shots from beyond the arc (224 of 671) and opponents are connecting on 71.2% of their foul shots. They have allowed 12.4 assists and 35.1 boards per game, ranking them 126th and 197th in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Montana State (+3)

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