Providence Friars vs Xavier Musketeers Prediction, 2/21/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Providence Friars vs Xavier Musketeers

Date: Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Location: Cintas Center in Cincinnati, OH

TV: ESPN+

The Providence Friars (17-9) are hitting the road to Cintas Center on Wednesday where they will take on the Xavier Musketeers (13-12).

The Providence Friars faced DePaul and walked away with a win by a score of 81-70 in their last game. When talking about fouls, the Friars finished with 21 and DePaul racked up 19 fouls. They also knocked down 5 out of their 17 tries from beyond the arc. DePaul finished the game at 65.2% when shooting free throws by knocking down 15 of their 23 tries. Additionally, DePaul collected 31 rebounds (8 offensive, 23 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. DePaul distributed 9 dimes and had 3 steals in this contest. When discussing defending, Providence allowed the other team to shoot 43.9% from the floor on 25 of 57 shooting. They also doled out 15 assists in this contest in addition to forcing the opposition into 8 turnovers and having 6 steals. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 39 with 14 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Friars knocked down 12 of their 19 attempts for a rate of 63.2%. Providence finished having earned a 46.7% FG percentage (28 of 60) and knocked down 13 of their 34 three-point attempts.

Devin Carter is a player who came through in this game. He finished 71.4% from the floor and recorded 3 dimes. He saw the court for 33 mins and pulled down 13 boards. He scored 31 points on 10 of 14 shooting.

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Providence will enter this game with a mark of 17-9 this year. They are giving up possession 12.4 times per contest and as a group they are committing 15.7 fouls per game. As a unit, Providence is snagging 36.2 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 358 assists this season, which ranks 141st in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Friars are hitting 32.8% on shots from 3-point land (211 of 643) and 70.2% from the charity stripe. They average 73.8 pts per contest (192nd in D-1) on 45.4% from the field.

Defensively, the Friars are able to force 12.5 turnovers every game and they draw 17.9 personal fouls. They surrender 32.4% from beyond the arc and they are 81st in college basketball in opponents points per game (68.0). The Friars are allowing a FG percentage of 41.0% (644 of 1,572) and they concede 35.4 boards per game as a basketball team. They are 13th in college basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 258 surrendered so far this year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Xavier Musketeers took a defeat with a final score of 88-70 when they faced Seton Hall. The Musketeers corralled 15 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards for a total of 24 for the matchup. They gave up possession of the ball 12 times, while getting 4 steals in the matchup. Seton Hall earned 20 personal fouls for the matchup which took the Musketeers to the free throw line for a total of 21 attempts. They were able to knock down 15 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 71.4%. Concerning shots from distance, Xavier converted 5 of their 17 attempts (29.4%). When the final whistle blew, the Musketeers finished the game shooting 25 out of 56 from the floor which had them at 44.6%. The Musketeers allowed Seton Hall to convert 33 of their 61 tries from the floor which had them sitting at 54.1% for this contest. They wrapped up this game 36.8% from downtown by going 7 out of 19 and ended up going 15 of 17 at the free throw line (88.2%). In relation to rebounds, Xavier permitted Seton Hall to pull down 29 in all (7 offensive).

Quincy Olivari ended up having an impact for the Musketeers for this game. He knocked down 8 out of 17 in this contest for a rate of 47.1%, and added 6 rebounds. He racked up 25 points in his 35 minutes on the hardwood and had 1 assist in this contest.

Xavier has a record of 13-12 on the season. When it comes to offense, the Musketeers are shooting 43.5% from the field, which is 253rd in the nation. Xavier has accounted for 1,893 points on the season (75.7 per game) and they pull in 39.0 boards per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 16.6 times per game (29th in Division 1) and they are giving up possession 11.6 times per game. The Musketeers are responsible for committing 17.1 fouls every game and they shoot 74.0% from the free throw line.

The Musketeers on defense are ranked 220th in college hoops in points given up per game with 73.0. They are forcing 11.4 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 42.2% from the floor (101st in college hoops). The Xavier defense gives up 32.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter (179 of 544) and their opponents are making 71.6% of their free throw shots. They give up 16.0 assists and 36.2 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 350th and 261st in those categories.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Providence

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