Holy Cross Crusaders vs Colgate Raiders Prediction, 3/7/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Holy Cross Crusaders vs Colgate Raiders

Date: Thursday, March 7, 2024

Location: Cotterell Court in Hamilton, NY

TV: ESPN+

The Colgate Raiders (22-9) are hosting the Holy Cross Crusaders (10-22) at Cotterell Court on Thursday.

The Holy Cross Crusaders stepped onto the hardwood against Army and walked away with a win by a score of 84-68 in their last contest. Holy Cross finished the game with a 52.9% field goal percentage (27 out of 51) and buried 12 of 19 3-point shots. At the free throw line, the Crusaders knocked down 18 of their 22 tries for a percentage of 81.8%. In the matter of rebounding, they compiled 34 with 6 of them being offensive. They also distributed 16 dimes for the game in addition to forcing the opposition into 4 turnovers and having 3 steals. In terms of defense, Holy Cross allowed the other team to go 41.3% from the floor on 26 of 63 shooting. Army recorded 17 dimes and had 6 steals in this matchup. Additionally, Army grabbed 29 rebounds (9 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't have a block. Army ended up shooting 57.1% when shooting free throws by making 8 of 14 tries. They made 8 of their 35 attempts from downtown. With respect to fouls, the Crusaders ended up walking away with 11 and Army totaled 17 fouls.

Joe Octave is one guy who was a major factor in this matchup. He ended up finishing with 28 points on 9 of 14 shooting. He was on the court for 35 minutes and pulled down 6 rebounds. He went 64.3% from the floor and also totaled 4 assists.

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Holy Cross will enter this matchup with a record of 10-22 this season. They have an average of 66.6 points per game (331st in the nation) while shooting 43.8% from the field. The Crusaders are shooting 35.6% on shots from beyond the arc (242 of 680) and 66.2% from the free throw line. As a team, Holy Cross is collecting 32.9 boards per contest and has 354 dimes so far this season, which has them ranked 290th in the nation in terms of passing. They lose possession via turnover 11.0 times per game and as a squad are committing 16.1 personal fouls every game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Crusaders have forced 8.5 turnovers per contest and they draw 14.3 fouls. They are surrendering 38.1% on shots from downtown and they are ranked 255th in Division 1 in opponents PPG (74.4). The Crusaders defense is allowing a FG percentage of 45.4% (849 of 1,871) and they relinquish 35.7 boards per game as a group. They rank 323rd in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 445 surrendered on the season.

In their last game, the Colgate Raiders got the victory with a final of 63-60 when they faced Lehigh. The Raiders collected 29 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive boards for a total of 37 in this matchup. They also turned it over 16 times, while earning 7 steals in this matchup. Lehigh committed 14 personal fouls for the game which got the Raiders to the charity stripe for 15 shots. They were able to bury 11 of the free throw tries for a rate of 73.3%. In reference to 3-point attempts, Colgate converted 2 out of their 10 attempts (20.0%). When this game wrapped up, the Raiders finished the game shooting 25 out of 51 from the floor which had them shooting 49.0%. The Raiders permitted Lehigh to bury 24 of their 59 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 40.7% in this contest. They went 20.0% from 3-point land by going 4 out of 20 and ended up shooting 8 out of 11 from the free throw line (72.7%). In reference to rebounding, Colgate permitted Lehigh to snag 27 in all (6 on the offensive glass).

Keegan Records ended up having an impact for the Raiders in this contest. He earned 12 points in his 27 minutes of playing time and totaled 1 assist for the contest. He knocked down 5 of 6 for the matchup for a rate of 83.3%, and had 11 rebounds.

Colgate has a mark of 22-9 for the season. When it comes to executing on offense, the Raiders are hitting on 46.6% from the field, which ranks them 73rd in the nation. Colgate has scored 2,208 points this season (71.2 per game) and they average 36.0 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 15.2 times per contest (64th in college hoops) and they are losing possession via turnover 10.8 times per game. The Raiders commit 13.5 personal fouls every game and they connect on 68.7% from the charity stripe.

The Raiders on the defensive side of the court are 12th in the country in points allowed per game with 63.4. They are forcing their opponents into 11.3 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 40.8% from the floor (36th in D-1). The Colgate defense gives up 30.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter (212 of 701) and their opponents are knocking down 67.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They surrender 12.7 dimes and 33.3 boards per contest, which is 162nd and 99th in college basketball.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Holy Cross

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