Northern Illinois Huskies vs Buffalo Bulls Prediction, 3/8/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northern Illinois Huskies vs Buffalo Bulls

Date: Friday, March 8, 2024

Location: Alumni Arena in Buffalo, NY

TV: ESPN+

The Northern Illinois Huskies (10-20) are en route to Alumni Arena on Friday where they will try to defeat the Buffalo Bulls (4-26).

The Northern Illinois Huskies faced Central Michigan and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 69-63 in their last contest. Northern Illinois wrapped up the game with a 39.7% field goal percentage (23 out of 58) and made 5 of their 22 3-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Huskies knocked down 12 of 20 attempts for a rate of 60.0%. In the matter of hauling in boards, they compiled a total of 33 with 12 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 10 assists in this matchup while forcing 6 turnovers and getting 4 steals. When talking about defense, Northern Illinois allowed their opponent to shoot 40.7% from the field on 24 of 59 shooting. Central Michigan recorded 13 assists and had 6 steals in the matchup. Furthermore, Central Michigan collected 31 rebounds (12 offensive, 19 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Central Michigan finished 56.0% from the free throw line by making 14 of 25 tries. They knocked down 7 out of their 21 shots from beyond the perimeter. In reference to fouls, the Huskies ended up with 18 while Central Michigan accounted for 19 fouls.

Yanic Konan Niederhauser is one guy who played a role in this contest. He notched 27 points on 9 out of 11 shooting. He played 29 mins and also snagged 8 boards. He finished the contest at 81.8% from the floor but had no assists when the time ran out.

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Northern Illinois will enter this game with a record of 10-20 so far this season. They have an average of 73.0 pts per contest (202nd in Division 1) while connecting on 44.3% from the field. The Huskies are hitting 32.6% on shots from beyond the arc (218 of 669) and 67.2% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Northern Illinois is snagging 35.5 boards per game and has tallied 302 dimes this season, which is 350th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 12.6 times per game and as a team they are committing 17.5 fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Huskies are forcing 10.8 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.8 fouls. They are relinquishing 36.0% from 3-point land and they rank 324th in D-1 in opponents points per game (77.7). The Huskies are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 45.1% (830 of 1,840) and they concede 37.1 boards per game as a group. They are 308th in D-1 in giving up assists with 438 surrendered for the year.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Buffalo Bulls took a loss by a final score of 78-66 against Ohio. When talking about rebounding, Buffalo allowed Ohio to get 26 in total (5 offensive). They finished 42.4% from beyond the arc by connecting on 14 out of 33 and ended up going 10 of 15 at the charity stripe (66.7%). The Bulls permitted Ohio to knock down 27 of their 57 tries from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 47.4% for this contest. Overall, the Bulls went 22 out of 50 from the field which gave them a rate of 44.0%. In regard to shots from downtown, Buffalo buried 6 of their 19 tries (31.6%). They were able to make 16 of them for a percentage of 66.7%. Ohio earned 16 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Bulls to the charity stripe for 24 tries. They gave up possession of the ball 18 times, while recording 9 steals in this contest. The Bulls were able to corral 26 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards for a total of 33 for this contest.

Sy Chatman was important for the Bulls in this game. He racked up 25 points in his 40 mins on the hardwood and tallied 2 dimes for the game. He made 9 of 19 in this matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 47.4%, and had 8 rebounds.

Buffalo has a record of 4-26 so far this season. The Bulls commit 15.5 fouls per contest and they connect on 71.8% from the free throw line. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 13.2 times per game (173rd in college basketball) and they turn the ball over 14.6 times per contest. Buffalo has scored 2,040 points this year (68.0 per game) and they grab 35.1 boards per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Bulls are hitting on 42.2% from the field, which ranks them 297th in college hoops.

The Buffalo defense allows 36.5% on shots from beyond the arc (241 of 661) and their opponents are converting on 71.7% of their free throw shots. They concede 15.8 dimes and 36.5 total rebounds per game, which is ranked 350th and 279th in college hoops. The Bulls defensively are ranked 344th in Division 1 in points per game surrendered with 79.8. They have forced 10.5 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 47.5% from the floor (349th in college basketball).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Buffalo

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