Oakland Golden Grizzlies vs Kentucky Wildcats Prediction, 3/21/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Oakland Golden Grizzlies vs Kentucky Wildcats

Date: Thursday, March 21, 2024

Location: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: Oakland (+13)

PPG Paints Arena is the site where the Kentucky Wildcats (23-9) will try to defeat the Oakland Golden Grizzlies (23-11) on Thursday in the NCAA Tournament. Oakland opens this contest as 13-point dogs from oddsmakers. The over/under is 162.

The Oakland Golden Grizzlies stepped onto the hardwood against Milwaukee and took home the win by a score of 83-76 in their last contest. Oakland wrapped up the game with a 43.5% FG percentage (27 of 62) and converted 8 of their 22 shots from 3-point land. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Golden Grizzlies buried 21 of 27 attempts for a percentage of 77.8%. When talking about grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 37 with 11 of them being offensive. They also doled out 17 assists in this matchup in addition to creating 7 turnovers and earning 5 steals. When it comes to defense, Oakland allowed their opponent to shoot 43.9% from the floor on 29 of 66 shooting. Milwaukee recorded 18 dimes and had 3 steals for this contest. Furthermore, Milwaukee had 35 rebounds (10 offensive, 25 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Milwaukee finished the contest at 73.7% from the charity stripe by making 14 of 19 shots. They buried 4 out of their 19 tries from 3-point land. When it comes to fouls, the Golden Grizzlies walked away with 15 and Milwaukee recorded 23 fouls.

Jack Gohlke is one player who was a major factor for this contest. He finished the contest at 46.7% from the field and also earned 1 assist. He was on the hardwood for 36 mins and grabbed 7 boards. He ended up with 21 points on 7 of 15 shooting.

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Oakland heads into this game with a record of 23-11 for the year. They are averaging 76.4 points per outing (97th in the nation) while going 45.0% from the floor. The Golden Grizzlies are shooting 35.1% on shots from beyond the arc (291 of 829) and 75.8% from the free throw line. As a team, Oakland is pulling in 35.8 rebounds per game and has totaled 493 assists for the campaign, which has them ranked 68th in college basketball in terms of passing. They cough up possession 11.2 times per contest and as a team are committing 15.1 fouls per game.

On defense, the Golden Grizzlies are forcing 11.3 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 16.4 personal fouls. They are relinquishing 33.9% on 3-point attempts and they are 218th in college basketball in points per game allowed (72.9). The Golden Grizzlies defense is allowing a FG percentage of 43.7% (896 of 2,050) and they concede 34.2 boards per game as a group. They are 362nd in Division 1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 559 surrendered on the season.

In their last game, the Kentucky Wildcats walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 97-87 against Texas A&M. Regarding cleaning up the glass, Kentucky allowed Texas A&M to collect 34 in total (9 offensive). They shot 42.3% from three-point range via 11 out of 26 and finished the contest at 22 of 30 at the charity stripe (73.3%). The Wildcats allowed Texas A&M to bury 32 out of their 69 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 46.4% for this game. When this game wrapped up, the Wildcats finished 30 for 60 from the field which had them shooting 50.0%. Concerning shots from downtown, Kentucky made 11 out of their 27 tries (40.7%). They were able to make 16 of the free throws for a rate of 72.7%. Texas A&M committed 17 fouls in this game which got the Wildcats to the free throw line for a total of 22 tries. They also turned it over 14 times, while getting 4 steals in this contest. The Wildcats earned 24 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 32 in the matchup.

Rob Dillingham pitched in for the Wildcats in the game. He accumulated 27 points in his 29 mins on the court and accumulated 7 dimes in the matchup. He made 9 out of 19 in the game for a field goal rate of 47.4%, and earned 4 rebounds.

Kentucky has a record of 23-9 on the campaign. The Wildcats commit 17.5 personal fouls every game and they connect on 77.3% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 17.6 times per game (11th in the country) and they turn the ball over 10.7 times per contest. Kentucky has scored 2,862 points on the year (89.4 per contest) and they pull down 37.6 rebounds per game. As an offensive unit, the Wildcats are connecting on 49.7% from the field, which is 5th in the country.

The Wildcats on defense are ranked 344th in college hoops in points given up per game with 79.7. They have forced 12.0 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 42.9% from the field (133rd in the country). The Kentucky defense concedes 32.6% on shots from beyond the arc (270 of 828) and their opponents are converting on 72.0% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have conceded 14.5 assists and 36.7 rebounds every game, which ranks them 303rd and 288th in those categories.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Kentucky (-13)

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