North Texas Mean Green vs Wichita State Shockers Prediction, 1/4/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: North Texas Mean Green vs Wichita State Shockers

Date: Thursday, January 4, 2024

Location: Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, KS

TV: ESPN

Charles Koch Arena is where the Wichita State Shockers (8-5) will try to defeat the North Texas Mean Green (7-5) on Thursday.

The North Texas Mean Green played LSU Shreveport and walked away with a win by a score of 80-57 in their last game. North Texas ended the game with a 40.0% FG percentage (28 out of 70) and made 12 of their 32 shots from downtown. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Mean Green converted 12 of their 17 shots for a rate of 70.6%. In the matter of pulling down rebounds, they earned 40 with 13 of them being offensive. They also dished out 14 assists in this contest in addition to forcing the opposition into 13 turnovers and having 8 steals. In reference to defending, North Texas allowed the other team to go 34.4% from the field on 21 out of 61 shooting. LSU Shreveport earned 4 dimes and had 8 steals for this game. Moreover, LSU Shreveport grabbed 33 rebounds (6 offensive, 27 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. LSU Shreveport finished the contest at 91.7% at the free throw line by knocking down 11 of 12 attempts. They also made 4 out of their 16 shots from beyond the arc. Concerning personal fouls, the Mean Green ended up with 16 and LSU Shreveport totaled 17 personal fouls.

Rubin Jones is someone who was a major factor for the game. He totaled 16 points on 5 of 12 shooting. He was on the court for 33 minutes and also snagged 4 rebounds. He went 41.7% from the floor and also earned 3 assists.

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North Texas comes into this game with a win-loss record of 7-5 for the year. They are averaging 69.2 pts per game (299th in Division 1) while going 43.5% from the floor. The Mean Green are connecting on 36.8% on shots from 3-point land (100 of 272) and 76.8% from the charity stripe. As a team, North Texas is pulling in 36.3 rebounds per game and has accumulated 128 dimes on the campaign, which has them ranked 353rd in the country in terms of passing. They lose possession by turning the ball over 12.3 times per game and as a group they are committing 16.9 fouls per game.

When they are on defense, the Mean Green are able to force 13.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 15.7 personal fouls. They rank 6th in D-1 in giving up assists with 112 surrendered so far this season. The Mean Green defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 38.4% (247 of 643) and they relinquish 32.3 rebounds per contest as a group. They concede 29.1% on 3-point shots while they are 5th in college basketball in opponents PPG (58.9).

In their last game, the Wichita State Shockers walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 86-67 when they faced Kansas. The Shockers corralled 28 defensive boards and 4 offensive rebounds for a total of 32 in this contest. They turned it over 14 times, while earning 7 steals for this game. Kansas had 15 fouls in this contest which took the Shockers to the charity stripe for 14 attempts. They were able to knock down 7 of them for a percentage of 50.0%. In terms of shots from 3-point land, Wichita State converted 4 of 20 tries (20.0%). Overall, the Shockers finished shooting 28 for 66 from the field which had them shooting 42.4%. The Shockers allowed Kansas to make 31 of 74 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 41.9% for the contest. They finished 25.9% from behind the 3-point line by going 7 out of 27 and walked away from this one shooting 17 of 19 from the charity stripe (89.5%). Concerning how they cleaned up the glass, Wichita State allowed Kansas to snag 43 overall (14 on the offensive side).

Dalen Ridgnal pitched in for the Shockers for the contest. He earned 13 points in his 29 minutes on the court, but didn't get an assist. He knocked down 6 out of 8 for the contest giving him a rate of 75.0%, and earned 7 rebounds.

Wichita State has a win-loss record of 8-5 this year. The Shockers commit 14.6 personal fouls every game and they go 69.7% from the free throw line. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 11.8 times per game (306th in college basketball) and they turn the ball over 11.6 times per contest. Wichita State has scored 979 pts on the season (75.3 per game) and they pull down 43.1 boards per game. When it comes to offense, the Shockers are hitting on 44.2% from the floor, which is 218th in the nation.

The Wichita State defense gives up 29.5% on shots from distance (105 of 356) and their opposition makes 74.8% of their foul shots. They have allowed 14.3 dimes and 36.1 boards per contest, which ranks 296th and 233rd in those categories on the defensive end. The Shockers defensively are ranked 198th in the nation in points allowed per game with 71.8. They are forcing their opponents into 9.8 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 39.7% from the floor (50th in the nation).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Wichita State

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