SMU Mustangs vs Boston College Eagles Prediction, 12/21/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: SMU Mustangs vs Boston College Eagles

Date: Saturday, December 21, 2024

Location: Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA

TV: ESPN+

The SMU Mustangs (9-2) are hitting the road to Conte Forum on Saturday where they will play the Boston College Eagles (7-4).

The SMU Mustangs faced off with LSU and walked away with a win by a score of 74-64 in their last contest. When it comes to personal fouls, the Mustangs ended up walking away with 14 and LSU accumulated 18 personal fouls. They buried 4 out of their 15 shots from 3-point land. LSU shot 77.8% from the charity stripe by making 14 of their 18 shots. Moreover, LSU pulled down 27 boards (5 offensive, 22 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. LSU doled out 14 dimes and had 10 steals for the game. With regard to defending, SMU allowed the other team to go 42.6% from the floor on 23 of 54 shooting. They also doled out 20 dimes for the contest while forcing the opposition into 17 turnovers and earning 9 steals. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they earned 37 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Mustangs converted 14 of 23 tries for a rate of 60.9%. SMU ended the contest having earned a 45.0% FG percentage (27 out of 60) and converted 6 of 16 three-point attempts.

Matt Cross is one player who was a major contributor in the game. He ended up walking away with 16 points on 6 of 12 shooting. He saw the court for 35 mins played and snagged 16 boards. He ended up shooting 50.0% from the floor and also distributed 2 dimes.

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SMU comes into this matchup with a win-loss record of 9-2 for the campaign. They are averaging 84.7 points per outing (30th in the country) while hitting 47.4% from the floor. The Mustangs are hitting 36.3% on shots beyond the perimeter (87 of 240) and 73.6% from the charity stripe. As a unit, SMU is pulling in 42.5 boards per game and has totaled 181 dimes for the season, which ranks 88th in college hoops in terms of passing the rock. They cough up possession 11.6 times per game and as a squad are committing 17.3 fouls on a nightly basis.

On defense, the Mustangs are able to force 13.1 turnovers every game and they draw 19.5 personal fouls. They rank 212th in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 150 surrendered this year. The Mustangs defense is giving up a FG percentage of 38.9% (254 of 653) and they surrender 32.1 boards per game as a team. They are relinquishing 33.8% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 131st in college in PPG from their opponents (69.2).

For their last game, the Boston College Eagles got the win with a final of 73-69 when they played Stonehill. The Eagles earned 21 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards for a total of 32 for the contest. They also coughed up the ball 9 times, while getting 3 steals for the matchup. Stonehill was called for 14 fouls in the game which took the Eagles to the charity stripe for a total of 12 tries. They were able to make 10 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 83.3%. With regard to shooting from distance, Boston College knocked down 5 of 17 tries (29.4%). When the final whistle blew, the Eagles ended up going 29 for 58 from the field which had them shooting 50.0%. The Eagles permitted Stonehill to make 24 of their 53 tries from the field which left them with a rate of 45.3% in this game. They finished shooting 43.5% from 3-point land by connecting on 10 out of 23 and walked away from this one shooting 11 of 12 from the free throw line (91.7%). When it comes to attacking the glass, Boston College permitted Stonehill to get 25 in total (7 offensive).

Chad Venning was important for the Eagles for the matchup. He totaled 13 points in his 29 mins of playing time and had 1 assist for the contest. He converted 6 of 10 in the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 60.0%, and had 4 rebounds.

Boston College has a win-loss mark of 7-4 for the year. As an offensive team, the Eagles are connecting on 42.3% from the field, which ranks them 298th in Division 1. Boston College has totaled 772 points this season (70.2 per contest) and they pull in 37.8 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 11.6 times per game (312th in college) and they turn it over 11.9 times per game. The Eagles are responsible for committing 19.0 fouls per game and they hit 72.9% from the free throw line.

The Eagles on the defensive end are ranked 126th in Division 1 in points per game surrendered with 69.0. They are forcing their opponents into 11.5 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 42.2% from the field (143rd in college hoops). The Boston College defense allows 34.2% from downtown (81 of 237) and their opposition knocks down 71.2% of their shots from the free throw line. They have conceded 12.3 assists and 33.4 rebounds per contest, which is ranked 126th and 130th in the nation.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take SMU

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