Holy Cross Crusaders vs Army Black Knights Prediction, 1/6/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Holy Cross Crusaders vs Army Black Knights

Date: Saturday, January 6, 2024

Location: Christl Arena in West Point, NY

TV: ESPN+

The Holy Cross Crusaders (3-11) are headed to Christl Arena on Saturday where they will play the Army Black Knights (4-10).

The Holy Cross Crusaders stepped onto the hardwood against Bucknell and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 70-58 in their last game. Holy Cross ended having earned a 41.5% field goal percentage (22 of 53) and knocked down 5 out of their 17 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the free throw line, the Crusaders made 9 of their 18 tries for a percentage of 50.0%. In relation to getting rebounds, they collected 32 with 8 of them being offensive. They also recorded 9 assists for the contest in addition to forcing 5 turnovers and getting 4 steals. With respect to defense, Holy Cross allowed the other team to shoot 38.3% from the floor on 23 out of 60 shooting. Bucknell distributed 13 assists and had 12 steals for the matchup. Additionally, Bucknell snagged 33 rebounds (11 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Bucknell finished the game shooting 83.3% at the charity stripe by knocking down 15 of 18 tries. They also buried 9 of 28 tries from distance. With respect to fouls, the Crusaders ended up finishing with 16 while Bucknell racked up 15 fouls.

Joe Octave is one player who came through for this game. He finished 46.2% from the field and also earned 2 dimes. He saw the court for 36 mins played and also grabbed 4 rebounds. He ended up with 17 points on 6 of 13 shooting.

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Holy Cross enters this contest with a win-loss mark of 3-11 on the season. They are averaging 65.6 pts per game (338th in D-1) while hitting 43.3% from the field. The Crusaders are shooting 34.0% on 3-pointers (108 of 318) and 62.6% from the free throw line. As a unit, Holy Cross is snagging 33.1 rebounds per contest and has totaled 165 assists this year, which ranks 278th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 12.5 times per contest and as a group they are committing 15.7 fouls per contest.

On the defensive end, the Crusaders are forcing their opponents into 8.7 turnovers per contest while drawing 13.1 personal fouls. They rank 292nd in college basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 198 surrendered for the campaign. The Crusaders defense is giving up a FG percentage of 46.2% (388 of 840) and they concede 36.1 rebounds per contest as a unit. They give up 38.4% on shots from downtown and they are 308th in college hoops in PPG allowed (76.7).

When they last stepped on the court, the Army Black Knights went home defeated by a final of 52-47 when they faced Lafayette. When discussing how they attacked the glass, Army allowed Lafayette to collect 26 overall (5 offensive). They finished shooting 23.1% from 3-point land via 3 of 13 and walked away from this one shooting 7 out of 10 from the free throw line (70.0%). The Black Knights permitted Lafayette to make 21 out of 52 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 40.4% in the matchup. When the game finished, the Black Knights finished the game shooting 16 out of 45 from the field which gave them a rate of 35.6%. In regard to shots from 3-point land, Army knocked down 5 of their 17 attempts (29.4%). They were able to knock down 10 of them for a percentage of 76.9%. Lafayette was called for 11 personal fouls in the game which got the Black Knights to the free throw line for 13 attempts. They coughed it up 12 times, while recording 5 steals in the matchup. The Black Knights were able to snag 22 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards totaling 30 in this contest.

Josh Scovens ended up being a major contributor for the Black Knights in this game. He knocked down 5 out of 11 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 45.5%, and totaled 6 rebounds. He had 12 points in his 31 mins on the hardwood and had 2 dimes for the game.

Army has a win-loss record of 4-10 so far this season. As an offensive team, the Black Knights are shooting 39.6% from the field, which is ranked 346th in the nation. Army has tallied 847 pts so far this year (60.5 per game) and they average 36.4 boards per game. They are earning an assist 12.6 times per game (249th in Division 1) and they cough up possession 13.5 times per contest. The Black Knights commit 15.1 personal fouls every game and they connect on 54.5% from the charity stripe.

The Black Knights defensively are ranked 18th in the country in points given up per game with 62.6. They have forced 11.9 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 42.2% from the floor (148th in the country). The Army defense concedes 31.1% on 3-point shots (87 of 280) and their opposition makes 69.9% of their shots from the charity stripe. They surrender 11.8 dimes and 33.4 boards on a nightly basis, ranking them 110th and 101st in D-1.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Holy Cross

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