Northwestern Wildcats vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights Prediction, 2/15/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northwestern Wildcats vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Date: Thursday, February 15, 2024

Location: Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, NJ

TV: BTN

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights (13-10) will try to beat the Northwestern Wildcats (17-7) at Jersey Mike’s Arena on Thursday.

The Northwestern Wildcats played Penn State and took home the win by a score of 68-63 in their last game. Northwestern wrapped up the contest with a 31.7% field goal percentage (20 of 63) and knocked down 6 of 16 three-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Wildcats buried 22 of their 27 shots for a percentage of 81.5%. With regard to hauling in rebounds, they compiled 34 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 14 dimes for the matchup as well as forcing 11 turnovers and earning 7 steals. In the matter of defending, Northwestern let their opponent shoot 43.8% from the floor on 21 out of 48 shooting. Penn State doled out 14 assists and had 3 steals in the game. On top of that, Penn State had 29 boards (2 offensive, 27 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Penn State finished the game shooting 75.0% at the free throw line by burying 15 of 20 attempts. They also converted 6 of 19 attempts from downtown. Concerning personal fouls, the Wildcats walked away with 16 while Penn State finished the game with 21 personal fouls.

Boo Buie is one guy who played a role in the matchup. He accounted for 15 points on 4 of 14 shooting. He played for 38 mins played and pulled down 5 rebounds. He finished the game shooting 28.6% from the field and also recorded 6 assists.

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Northwestern comes into this game with a win-loss mark of 17-7 on the campaign. They turn it over 9.1 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 18.3 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Northwestern is pulling down 30.8 boards per game and has accounted for 391 assists this season, which is 39th in college basketball in terms of passing the rock. The Wildcats are shooting 39.5% on 3-pointers (203 of 514) and 72.7% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 74.9 points per game (158th in Division 1) while going 46.6% from the floor.

On defense, the Wildcats are forcing their opponents into 13.5 turnovers per game while drawing 16.8 personal fouls. They relinquish 35.7% on shots from downtown and they rank 122nd in college hoops in PPG allowed (69.8). The Wildcats defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 45.0% (562 of 1,248) and they concede 33.3 boards per contest as a team. They are currently ranked 232nd in the nation in allowing assists to the opposition with 325 conceded this year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights took home the win by a final score of 78-56 when they faced Wisconsin. In the matter of how they attacked the glass, Rutgers allowed Wisconsin to snag 36 in total (9 on the offensive glass). They shot 23.8% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 5 out of 21 and walked away from this one shooting 13 of 22 from the free throw line (59.1%). The Scarlet Knights allowed Wisconsin to convert 19 out of 58 tries from the field which had them shooting 32.8% for the matchup. At the conclusion of this game, the Scarlet Knights finished 30 out of 67 from the field which gave them a percentage of 44.8%. When discussing shots from distance, Rutgers made 10 out of their 17 tries (58.8%). They were able to knock down 8 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 88.9%. Wisconsin was called for 14 fouls for the matchup which took the Scarlet Knights to the free throw line for 9 shots. They coughed up the ball 7 times, while earning 8 steals in this matchup. The Scarlet Knights earned 31 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 41 for the game.

Jeremiah Williams pitched in for the Scarlet Knights in the game. He knocked down 6 of 15 in this contest for a rate of 40.0%, and had 5 rebounds. He totaled 18 points in his 27 mins on the court and had 7 dimes for the game.

Rutgers has a mark of 13-10 this year. The Scarlet Knights are responsible for committing 16.5 fouls per contest and they hit 66.0% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 11.9 times per contest (294th in the country) and they lose possession via turnover 11.7 times per game. Rutgers has totaled 1,539 pts so far this year (66.9 per game) and they snag 38.8 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Scarlet Knights are shooting 39.1% from the floor, which is ranked 356th in D-1.

The Rutgers defense gives up 30.3% on 3-point attempts (158 of 521) and their opponents are converting on 69.7% of their shots from the charity stripe. They allow 11.8 dimes and 39.5 rebounds per game, which is ranked 89th and 352nd in those categories. The Scarlet Knights on the defensive end are ranked 29th in D-1 in PPG allowed with 65.0. They are able to force 15.1 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 39.6% from the field (14th in D-1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Northwestern

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