Liberty Flames vs MTSU Blue Raiders Prediction, 3/5/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Liberty Flames vs MTSU Blue Raiders

Date: Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Location: Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, TN

TV: ESPN+

The MTSU Blue Raiders (12-17) will play the Liberty Flames (17-12) at Murphy Center on Tuesday.

The Liberty Flames faced UTEP and took a loss by a final of 67-51 in their last contest. Liberty finished the contest with a 39.1% FG percentage (18 of 46) and knocked down 7 of their 25 3-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Flames converted 8 of their 14 attempts for a rate of 57.1%. In terms of grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 23 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 9 dimes for this game while forcing 9 turnovers and earning 4 steals. In reference to defending, Liberty let their opponent shoot 52.8% from the floor on 28 out of 53 shooting. UTEP earned 7 dimes and had 6 steals in the matchup. On top of that, UTEP pulled down 26 rebounds (7 offensive, 19 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. UTEP finished shooting 55.6% at the charity stripe by converting 5 of their 9 attempts. They made 6 out of their 15 attempts from three-point range. In regard to fouls, the Flames walked away with 12 while UTEP finished the game with 14 fouls.

Kaden Metheny is one guy who was a contributor for the contest. He left the arena with 15 points on 5 out of 10 shooting. He was on the court for 37 minutes and pulled down 2 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 50.0% from the floor and distributed 2 dimes.

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Liberty enters this contest with a win-loss record of 17-12 this season. They average 74.6 points per outing (152nd in D-1) while going 46.6% from the field. The Flames are shooting 36.8% on shots from downtown (297 of 808) and 66.4% from the charity stripe. As a team, Liberty is pulling down 34.6 boards per game and has accounted for 464 assists so far this season, which is 48th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession via turnover 10.0 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 14.7 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

On defense, the Flames have forced 11.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 15.7 personal fouls. They are ranked 5th in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 277 conceded on the campaign. The Flames defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 43.6% (699 of 1,605) and they relinquish 32.7 boards per game as a squad. They are giving up 31.2% on shots from distance and they are ranked 18th in college basketball in opponents points per game (64.9).

In their last game, the MTSU Blue Raiders took a loss by a final score of 81-64 when they played Sam Houston State. With respect to how they attacked the glass, MTSU allowed Sam Houston State to get 34 in total (10 on the offensive side). They went 40.9% from distance by shooting 9 of 22 and finished the game at 22 out of 28 from the charity stripe (78.6%). The Blue Raiders allowed Sam Houston State to make 25 of 52 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 48.1% in this matchup. When this game wrapped up, the Blue Raiders shot 18 out of 47 from the floor which had them shooting 38.3%. With respect to three-point attempts, MTSU buried 5 of their 20 attempts (25.0%). They were able to knock down 23 of the free throws for a clip of 79.3%. Sam Houston State was called for 24 fouls in this contest which got the Blue Raiders to the charity stripe for 29 attempts. They coughed up the ball 10 times, while earning 2 steals for the matchup. The Blue Raiders pulled down 17 defensive boards and 4 offensive boards totaling 21 in this game.

Jared Coleman-Jones was important for the Blue Raiders in the game. He converted 6 of 10 in this matchup for a field goal rate of 60.0%, and earned 4 rebounds. He had 18 points in his 34 mins of playing time and totaled 4 dimes for the contest.

MTSU has a record of 12-17 on the season. The Blue Raiders are committing 15.9 personal fouls per game while shooting 69.0% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 10.1 times per game (353rd in college basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 14.3 times per game. MTSU has totaled 1,904 points this year (65.7 per game) and they pull in 35.0 boards per contest. When it comes to executing on offense, the Blue Raiders are shooting 40.7% from the floor, which is ranked 338th in Division 1.

The Blue Raiders are ranked 112th in college hoops in points given up per game with 69.7. They are able to force 11.1 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 43.6% from the floor (182nd in Division 1). The MTSU defense allows 32.0% on 3-point shots (164 of 513) and opponents are converting on 72.8% of their free throw attempts. They give up 11.0 dimes and 35.7 rebounds per contest, which ranks them 38th and 235th in the country.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Liberty

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