Missouri State Bears vs Murray State Racers Prediction, 3/7/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Missouri State Bears vs Murray State Racers

Date: Thursday, March 7, 2024

Location: Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO

TV: ESPN+

Enterprise Center is the site where the Murray State Racers (12-19) will go up against the Missouri State Bears (16-15) on Thursday.

The Missouri State Bears took the court against UIC and walked away with a win by a score of 69-59 in their last game. Missouri State finished the game with a 39.4% FG percentage (26 of 66) and made 5 out of their 17 shots from 3-point land. At the free throw line, the Bears knocked down 12 of 17 tries for a percentage of 70.6%. In regard to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 45 with 14 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 15 assists for the game while forcing the opposition into 13 turnovers and getting 4 steals. When discussing defense, Missouri State let their opponent shoot 35.7% from the floor on 20 out of 56 shooting. UIC earned 10 assists and had 7 steals for this contest. Moreover, UIC snagged 28 rebounds (5 offensive, 23 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. UIC finished 64.7% from the charity stripe by making 11 of their 17 shots. They also converted 8 of 27 shots from 3-point land. Concerning personal fouls, the Bears ended up finishing with 13 while UIC racked up 17 personal fouls.

Cesare Edwards is a player who was a major factor for the matchup. He ended up going 100.0% from the field and also totaled 1 assist. He saw the court for 13 minutes and also collected 1 board. He racked up 12 points on 5 out of 5 shooting.

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Missouri State comes into this matchup with a mark of 16-15 this year. They are losing possession via turnover 12.0 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 15.2 fouls per game. As a team, Missouri State is pulling down 39.1 boards per game and has accumulated 374 dimes for the campaign, which is 237th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Bears are hitting 31.6% on shots from downtown (214 of 677) and 70.6% from the free throw line. They average 72.0 points per contest (235th in the country) while shooting 44.2% from the floor.

Defensively, the Bears have forced 9.1 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 16.6 fouls. They surrender 33.6% on shots from distance and they rank 193rd in college hoops in PPG allowed (72.3). The Bears are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 42.1% (819 of 1,947) and they surrender 34.2 boards per contest as a squad. They are ranked 225th in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 400 relinquished on the campaign.

In their last game, the Murray State Racers walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 89-77 when they played Indiana State. The Racers corralled 15 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards for a total of 25 for the matchup. They turned the ball over 8 times, while recording 6 steals for the contest. Indiana State committed 12 fouls for this contest which took the Racers to the free throw line for a total of 16 shots. They were able to convert 14 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 87.5%. In relation to three-point attempts, Murray State made 7 of their 18 attempts (38.9%). In all, the Racers shot 28 out of 62 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 45.2%. The Racers permitted Indiana State to bury 28 of their 46 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 60.9% for this contest. They finished shooting 55.0% from distance by shooting 11 out of 20 and ended up shooting 22 of 23 from the charity stripe (95.7%). In reference to team rebounding, Murray State allowed Indiana State to collect 24 in total (2 on the offensive side).

Quincy Anderson ended up being a major contributor for the Racers for the game. He made 10 of 19 in the game giving him a rate of 52.6%, and accounted for 3 rebounds. He totaled 25 points in his 33 mins of playing time, but finished this game without an assist.

Murray State has a win-loss mark of 12-19 so far this season. As an offense, the Racers are connecting on 45.3% from the field, which ranks them 143rd in college basketball. Murray State has totaled 2,197 points for the season (70.9 per contest) and they grab 32.7 boards per game. They are earning an assist 11.7 times per game (296th in college basketball) and they are turning it over 9.5 times per contest. The Racers are committing 15.3 fouls per contest and they hit 70.1% from the charity stripe.

The Racers on the defensive side of the court are 122nd in Division 1 in PPG given up with 70.2. They are able to force 11.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 46.4% from the floor (329th in D-1). The Murray State defense concedes 36.9% from downtown (267 of 723) and their opposition makes 71.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They have relinquished 13.5 dimes and 33.0 boards per game, which has them ranked 240th and 82nd in the country.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Murray State

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