Sam Houston State Bearkats vs MTSU Blue Raiders Prediction, 1/13/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Sam Houston State Bearkats vs MTSU Blue Raiders

Date: Saturday, January 13, 2024

Location: Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, TN

TV: ESPN+

Murphy Center is the location where the MTSU Blue Raiders (6-9) will take on the Sam Houston State Bearkats (9-8) on Saturday.

The Sam Houston State Bearkats faced Western Kentucky and walked away with a win by a score of 78-74 in their last game. Sam Houston State wrapped up the game with a 45.2% field goal percentage (28 of 62) and made 8 out of their 21 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the free throw line, the Bearkats knocked down 14 of 20 shots for a percentage of 70.0%. In regard to grabbing boards, they earned 32 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 16 assists for the contest in addition to forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and having 9 steals. With regard to defending, Sam Houston State allowed 45.2% from the field on 28 out of 62 shooting. Western Kentucky earned 14 assists and had 10 steals in the matchup. Additionally, Western Kentucky grabbed 31 boards (7 offensive, 24 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Western Kentucky finished shooting 66.7% from the charity stripe by burying 8 of 12 shots. They made 10 of their 22 tries from 3-point range. With respect to personal fouls, the Bearkats ended up finishing with 15 while Western Kentucky racked up 21 personal fouls.

Lamar Wilkerson is a player who was a major contributor for the contest. He ended up shooting 58.3% from the field and also totaled 1 assist. He played 28 minutes and also snagged 2 boards. He scored 21 points on 7 of 12 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Basketball Expert Picks

Sam Houston State heads into this contest with a record of 9-8 on the campaign. They currently have an average of 72.7 pts per contest (237th in D-1) while going 40.8% from the field. The Bearkats are shooting 33.7% from downtown (128 of 380) and 71.5% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Sam Houston State is pulling down 37.4 boards per game and has accounted for 235 assists on the campaign, which has them ranked 96th in the country in terms of passing the rock. They turn it over 13.4 times per contest and as a team they commit 18.1 fouls every game.

On defense, the Bearkats are able to force 14.8 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.4 personal fouls. They surrender 31.8% on 3-point attempts and they are 215th in college hoops in PPG allowed (72.6). The Bearkats defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 44.5% (438 of 985) and they concede 37.0 boards per game as a squad. They rank 349th in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 252 relinquished on the year.

In their last game, the MTSU Blue Raiders walked away with a victory by a final of 84-47 when they played Reinhardt. In relation to how they cleaned up the glass, MTSU allowed Reinhardt to get 32 in all (10 offensive). They shot 26.3% from downtown by shooting 5 out of 19 and finished the contest at 10 of 16 from the free throw line (62.5%). The Blue Raiders allowed Reinhardt to bury 16 out of their 53 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 30.2% for the matchup. When the game finished, the Blue Raiders ended up going 33 out of 66 from the floor which had them sitting at 50.0%. When discussing shooting from 3-point land, MTSU buried 9 of 29 tries (31.0%). They were able to knock down 9 of the free throws for a clip of 69.2%. Reinhardt was called for 13 fouls in this contest which got the Blue Raiders to the charity stripe for a total of 13 tries. They coughed up the ball 10 times, while recording 12 steals for this game. The Blue Raiders were able to corral 26 defensive boards and 12 offensive boards for a total of 38 for the contest.

Jalen Jordan pitched in for the Blue Raiders in the matchup. He knocked down 5 out of 9 for the matchup for a field goal percentage of 55.6%, and had 4 rebounds. He had 15 points in his 20 minutes on the hardwood and earned 5 assists for the matchup.

MTSU has a mark of 6-9 this year. As an offensive unit, the Blue Raiders are hitting on 41.0% from the floor, which ranks them 324th in college basketball. MTSU has totaled 962 points on the campaign (64.1 per game) and they snag 35.3 boards per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 10.2 times per contest (346th in college hoops) and they turn the ball over 13.7 times per game. The Blue Raiders are committing 14.9 personal fouls every game and they shoot 64.9% from the charity stripe.

The Blue Raiders defensively are ranked 79th in college basketball in PPG allowed with 66.5. They are able to force 12.0 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 44.1% from the field (246th in college basketball). The MTSU defense surrenders 30.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter (82 of 269) and their opponents are knocking down 68.1% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 11.2 dimes and 35.4 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 66th and 203rd in D-1.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take MTSU

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here