Northwestern Wildcats vs Butler Bulldogs Prediction, 11/28/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northwestern Wildcats vs Butler Bulldogs

Date: Thursday, November 28, 2024

Location: Mullett Arena in Tempe, AZ

TV: CBSSN

The Butler Bulldogs (4-1) are hosting the Northwestern Wildcats (5-1) at Mullett Arena on Thursday.

The Northwestern Wildcats took the court against Pepperdine and took home the win by a score of 68-50 in their last contest. Regarding personal fouls, the Wildcats ended up finishing with 18 while Pepperdine finished the game with 18 personal fouls. They also buried 3 of their 20 shots from long range. Pepperdine walked away from this one shooting 83.3% at the free throw line by knocking down 15 of 18 tries. Additionally, Pepperdine pulled down 34 boards (7 offensive, 27 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Pepperdine dished out 12 dimes and had 3 steals for this game. In regard to defense, Northwestern let their opponent shoot 28.6% from the floor on 16 of 56 shooting. They also dished out 12 assists for the game in addition to forcing the other team into 11 turnovers and earning 7 steals. When talking about pulling down rebounds, they earned a total of 36 with 5 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the Wildcats converted 18 of their 21 attempts for a percentage of 85.7%. Northwestern finished the game with a 42.1% FG percentage (24 of 57) and made 2 out of their 11 three-point attempts.

Jalen Leach is someone who came through in this game. He ended up shooting 58.3% from the field but finished the game without an assist. He was on the court for 27 minutes and also totaled 4 rebounds. He finished with 21 points on 7 of 12 shooting.

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Northwestern heads into this game with a record of 5-1 for the campaign. They currently have an average of 74.3 pts per contest (223rd in D-1) while connecting on 46.4% from the field. The Wildcats are connecting on 31.7% on three-point attempts (32 of 101) and 72.6% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Northwestern is pulling down 37.3 rebounds per contest and has tallied 90 assists on the campaign, which is 184th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. They turn it over 10.5 times per contest and as a team are committing 17.7 personal fouls per contest.

On the defensive end, the Wildcats are able to force 13.7 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.2 personal fouls. They are conceding 28.7% on 3-pointers while they are 31st in college hoops in opponents PPG (61.3). The Wildcats defense is giving up an opponent FG percentage of 40.5% (132 of 326) and they surrender 31.7 boards per game as a group. They currently rank 268th in college basketball in allowing assists with 93 relinquished on the campaign.

In their last game, the Butler Bulldogs walked away with a victory by a final of 78-39 when they faced Merrimack. In regard to rebounds, Butler allowed Merrimack to collect 21 overall (5 on the offensive glass). They went 14.3% from beyond the perimeter by going 3 out of 21 and walked away from this one shooting 2 out of 7 at the free throw line (28.6%). The Bulldogs allowed Merrimack to convert 17 of their 57 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 29.8% for this game. When all was said and done, the Bulldogs finished shooting 24 for 51 from the field which gave them a rate of 47.1%. In reference to shots from downtown, Butler converted 8 of their 20 tries (40.0%). They were able to knock down 22 of the free throws for a percentage of 71.0%. Merrimack committed 22 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Bulldogs to the free throw line for 31 attempts. They also turned the ball over 9 times, while getting 2 steals for the contest. The Bulldogs pulled down 34 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 44 in this game.

Pierre Brooks was important for the Bulldogs for the contest. He earned 23 points in his 29 mins of playing time, but wasn't able to notch an assist. He converted 9 of 14 in this matchup giving him a rate of 64.3%, and tallied 12 rebounds.

Butler has a record of 4-1 for the season. As an offensive unit, the Bulldogs are shooting 46.1% from the floor, which has them ranked 152nd in the nation. Butler has accounted for 382 points this season (76.4 per contest) and they collect 39.0 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 14.8 times per game (151st in the nation) and they lose possession via turnover 13.6 times per game. The Bulldogs commit 14.0 fouls per contest and they hit 77.8% from the free throw line.

The Butler defense allows 24.3% on shots from distance (25 of 103) and their opposition knocks down 66.7% of their free throw attempts. They relinquish 9.6 dimes and 31.8 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 27th and 77th in those categories. The Bulldogs on the defensive side of the court are 32nd in college basketball in points given up per game with 61.4. They are forcing 8.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 36.4% from the floor (18th in college basketball).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Northwestern

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