Missouri State Bears vs Belmont Bruins Prediction, 2/24/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Missouri State Bears vs Belmont Bruins

Date: Saturday, February 24, 2024

Location: Curb Event Center Arena in Nashville, TN

TV: ESPN+

The Missouri State Bears (15-13) are headed to Curb Event Center Arena on Saturday where they will attempt to beat the Belmont Bruins (16-12).

The Missouri State Bears took the court against Bradley and ended up losing by a score of 86-62 in their last contest. Regarding fouls, the Bears finished with 11 and Bradley recorded 17 fouls. They also made 16 out of their 33 tries from three-point range. Bradley went 57.1% from the free throw line by converting 4 of 7 tries. On top of that, Bradley totaled 33 boards (7 offensive, 26 defensive), but didn't have a block. Bradley recorded 19 dimes and had 9 steals in this contest. When discussing defense, Missouri State allowed the other team to shoot 53.2% from the floor on 33 of 62 shooting. They also doled out 8 assists for the contest in addition to forcing 6 turnovers and earning 2 steals. In relation to grabbing rebounds, they earned 28 with 8 of them being of the offensive sort. From the charity stripe, the Bears converted 18 of their 26 tries for a rate of 69.2%. Missouri State wrapped up the game with a 39.2% FG percentage (20 of 51) and made 4 of their 13 three-point attempts.

Alston Mason is one player who came through for the contest. He finished the contest at 50.0% from the floor but didn't record a dime. He was on the hardwood for 36 mins and snagged 3 boards. He ended up scoring 19 points on 6 out of 12 shooting.

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Missouri State heads into this matchup with a mark of 15-13 on the campaign. They turn the ball over 12.0 times per contest and as a squad are committing 15.3 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Missouri State is pulling down 38.9 boards per game and has tallied 334 assists so far this season, which is 228th in the country in terms of passing. The Bears are connecting on 31.6% on shots beyond the perimeter (197 of 624) and 70.7% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 71.8 points per game (241st in the country) while connecting on 43.9% from the floor.

On defense, the Bears have forced 9.1 turnovers every game and they draw 16.8 personal fouls. They currently rank 228th in the nation in allowing assists to their opponents with 351 relinquished this season. The Bears defensively are allowing a FG percentage of 41.9% (739 of 1,762) and they surrender 34.5 boards per game as a squad. They are conceding 33.4% on 3-pointers and they rank 186th in college hoops in PPG allowed (72.0).

In their last game, the Belmont Bruins took a defeat with a final score of 84-69 when they played Drake. The Bruins snagged 21 defensive boards and 13 offensive boards totaling 34 in the game. They also coughed up the ball 10 times, while getting 3 steals for this contest. Drake earned 13 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Bruins to the free throw line for 14 tries. They were able to make 10 of the free throw tries for a rate of 71.4%. In regard to shots from distance, Belmont knocked down 7 of 29 attempts (24.1%). When the final whistle blew, the Bruins finished 26 out of 63 from the field which had them shooting 41.3%. The Bruins allowed Drake to convert 30 out of 58 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 51.7% in this game. They shot 47.6% from 3-point land by hitting 10 of 21 and finished the game at 14 of 16 from the free throw line (87.5%). In the matter of rebounding, Belmont permitted Drake to snag 27 in all (4 offensive).

Ja'Kobi Gillespie ended up being a factor for the Bruins in the game. He converted 10 of 19 in the matchup giving him a rate of 52.6%, and earned 1 rebound. He scored 23 points in his 38 mins of playing time, but went home with no dimes.

Belmont has a record of 16-12 so far this season. The Bruins have committed 15.5 fouls every game and they connect on 72.6% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 14.7 times per game (88th in D-1) and they are turning it over 12.5 times per contest. Belmont has totaled 2,163 points so far this season (77.3 per game) and they grab 33.7 boards per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Bruins are shooting 47.5% from the floor, which is ranked 37th in college hoops.

The Belmont defense concedes 33.7% on three-point shots (241 of 716) and opponents are connecting on 72.7% of their free throw shots. They have given up 15.6 assists and 35.5 rebounds on a nightly basis, ranking them 344th and 222nd in the country. The Bruins defensively are ranked 314th in college basketball in points allowed per contest with 77.1. They are able to force 12.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 45.5% from the floor (304th in college hoops).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Missouri State

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