Tulane Green Wave vs SMU Mustangs Prediction, 2/1/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tulane Green Wave vs SMU Mustangs

Date: Thursday, February 1, 2024

Location: Moody Coliseum in University Park, TX

TV: ESPN

The Tulane Green Wave (12-8) are en route to Moody Coliseum on Thursday where they will meet the SMU Mustangs (13-7).

The Tulane Green Wave faced Charlotte and took a loss by a score of 75-71 in their last game. In reference to personal fouls, the Green Wave left the arena with 20 and Charlotte racked up 17 personal fouls. They made 6 of 23 shots from long range. Charlotte finished the game shooting 82.1% from the charity stripe by converting 23 of their 28 tries. On top of that, Charlotte snagged 39 boards (9 offensive, 30 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Charlotte earned 11 assists and had 1 steal in the game. In regard to the defense, Tulane allowed the other team to go 42.6% from the floor on 23 of 54 shooting. They also dished out 13 assists for the matchup while creating 7 turnovers and having 5 steals. In the matter of grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 30 with 8 of them being offensive. When they shot from the free throw line, the Green Wave made 9 of 14 attempts for a percentage of 64.3%. Tulane ended the game with a 41.2% field goal percentage (28 out of 68) and made 6 of their 23 shots from beyond the arc.

Kevin Cross is one player who was important for the contest. He accumulated 16 points on 7 out of 17 shooting. He was on the court for 35 minutes played and also collected 4 rebounds. He finished 41.2% from the floor and also totaled 5 assists.

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Tulane will enter this game with a record of 12-8 on the campaign. They lose possession via turnover 10.5 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 16.9 fouls per game. As a unit, Tulane is grabbing 33.1 rebounds per game and has earned 290 assists on the year, which is 147th in college basketball in terms of passing the rock. The Green Wave are shooting 36.0% on 3-pointers (159 of 442) and 73.6% from the free throw line. They are averaging 85.2 points per game (11th in Division 1) while connecting on 48.7% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Green Wave are able to force 14.3 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 20.4 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 307th in college hoops in giving up assists with 302 relinquished this year. The Green Wave defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 42.9% (558 of 1,300) and they surrender 40.1 rebounds per game as a unit. They are relinquishing 34.0% on 3-point attempts and they are 339th in the country in PPG allowed (79.3).

When they last stepped on the court, the SMU Mustangs took a loss by a final score of 77-72 when they faced Wichita State. The Mustangs were able to corral 17 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards totaling 27 for this contest. They also gave up possession 15 times, while getting 8 steals for this contest. Wichita State was called for 13 personal fouls in this contest which got the Mustangs to the free throw line for 8 shots. They were able to knock down 5 of the free throws for a rate of 62.5%. When talking about three-point attempts, SMU knocked down 9 of their 19 attempts (47.4%). When the final whistle blew, the Mustangs went 29 out of 58 from the field which gave them a percentage of 50.0%. The Mustangs allowed Wichita State to convert 28 of their 60 tries from the field which had them shooting 46.7% in this matchup. They went 37.5% from beyond the arc by shooting 6 of 16 and finished the game at 15 of 21 at the free throw line (71.4%). In the matter of cleaning the glass, SMU permitted Wichita State to snag 28 in total (11 on the offensive side).

Chuck Harris ended up being a major contributor for the Mustangs in this contest. He scored 15 points in his 33 minutes on the court and had 4 assists for this game. He converted 6 of 9 in the matchup for a rate of 66.7%, and accumulated 5 rebounds.

SMU has a record of 13-7 so far this season. As an offensive team, the Mustangs are connecting on 45.9% from the field, which is ranked 124th in the nation. SMU has accumulated 1,511 points for the year (75.6 per game) and they pull down 39.7 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 15.7 times per game (53rd in college basketball) and they turn it over 12.2 times per contest. The Mustangs commit 17.0 fouls every game while shooting 68.8% from the charity stripe.

The SMU defense allows 26.9% on three-point shots (118 of 438) and opponents are connecting on 68.6% of their free throw attempts. They have relinquished 12.4 dimes and 34.9 boards per contest, which ranks them 140th and 183rd in college basketball. The Mustangs on the defensive end are ranked 13th in the nation in PPG given up with 63.4. They are able to force 13.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 37.8% from the floor (4th in the nation).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Tulane

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