New Mexico Lobos vs Colorado State Rams Prediction, 1/2/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: New Mexico Lobos vs Colorado State Rams

Date: Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Location: Moby Arena in Fort Collins, CO

TV: ESPN+

The Colorado State Rams (11-1) will go up against the New Mexico Lobos (11-1) at Moby Arena on Tuesday.

The New Mexico Lobos stepped onto the hardwood against UC Irvine and notched a win by a score of 78-65 in their last game. When discussing fouls, the Lobos finished with 19 and UC Irvine racked up 20 fouls. They also converted 6 of their 22 shots from beyond the arc. UC Irvine shot 68.2% from the free throw line by making 15 of their 22 tries. Moreover, UC Irvine had 38 rebounds (8 offensive, 30 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. UC Irvine earned 16 dimes and had 6 steals for the game. In the matter of defense, New Mexico let their opponent shoot 37.9% from the field on 22 of 58 shooting. They also doled out 10 assists in the matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and having 9 steals. Regarding hauling in boards, they earned a total of 35 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. From the charity stripe, the Lobos converted 21 of their 28 attempts for a rate of 75.0%. New Mexico walked away from the game having earned a 39.4% field goal percentage (26 out of 66) and converted 5 of their 19 shots from beyond the arc.

Jaelen House is a player who was a factor in the game. He finished with 20 points on 5 of 16 shooting. He saw the court for 37 mins played and also snagged 3 rebounds. He ended up shooting 31.3% from the floor and distributed 5 assists.

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New Mexico enters this contest with a win-loss mark of 11-1 for the year. They average 84.3 points per game (28th in the nation) on 47.0% from the field. The Lobos are hitting 34.7% on shots from 3-point land (76 of 219) and 68.9% from the free throw line. As a unit, New Mexico is snagging 40.5 boards per game and has racked up 191 dimes for the season, which is 86th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 11.0 times per game and as a unit they are committing 18.9 fouls every game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Lobos are forcing their opponents into 16.4 turnovers per game while drawing 20.1 fouls. They rank 151st in the country in allowing assists to the opposition with 147 surrendered on the campaign. The Lobos are allowing a shooting percentage of 40.3% (277 of 687) and they surrender 34.8 boards per contest as a basketball team. They give up 31.6% on 3-point attempts while they are 115th in college basketball in PPG allowed (68.3).

The last time they took the court, the Colorado State Rams walked away with a victory by a final of 76-67 when they played Loyola Marymount. When talking about rebounding, Colorado State permitted Loyola Marymount to collect 26 in all (8 offensive). They went 46.2% from distance by connecting on 12 out of 26 and finished the game at 9 of 15 from the free throw line (60.0%). The Rams permitted Loyola Marymount to make 23 of 53 tries from the floor which had them shooting 43.4% for the contest. Overall, the Rams finished 30 for 53 from the floor which had them at 56.6%. When talking about three-point attempts, Colorado State converted 6 of 18 tries (33.3%). They were able to knock down 10 of those for a percentage of 76.9%. Loyola Marymount had 17 personal fouls in this game which got the Rams to the free throw line for 13 attempts. They turned the ball over 8 times, while recording 3 steals in the matchup. The Rams snagged 20 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive boards for a total of 24 for the contest.

Nique Clifford ended up being important for the Rams for this game. He had 23 points in his 34 minutes on the court and added 1 assist in this game. He buried 9 out of 10 for this contest for a rate of 90.0%, and had 4 rebounds.

Colorado State has a mark of 11-1 on the campaign. As an offense, the Rams are connecting on 52.3% from the field, which is 5th in Division 1. Colorado State has 995 points so far this season (82.9 per game) and they snag 31.8 rebounds per contest. They are dishing out assists 20.2 times per contest (5th in D-1) and they are losing possession via turnover 10.0 times per contest. The Rams are committing 16.9 personal fouls every game while shooting 77.7% from the charity stripe.

The Rams defensively are ranked 129th in the nation in PPG surrendered with 68.8. They are forcing their opponents into 13.3 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.6% from the floor (230th in college hoops). The Colorado State defense allows 32.2% on 3-point attempts (83 of 258) and their opposition knocks down 73.8% of their free throw shots. They have conceded 10.9 assists and 31.4 rebounds every game, ranking them 61st and 43rd in those defensive categories.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Colorado State

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