Xavier Musketeers vs UConn Huskies Prediction, 1/28/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Xavier Musketeers vs UConn Huskies

Date: Sunday, January 28, 2024

Location: XL Center in Hartford, CT

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Xavier (+10)

XL Center is where the UConn Huskies (17-2) will take on the Xavier Musketeers (10-9) on Sunday. UConn opens as 10-point favorites from oddsmakers. The betting total is set at 150.5.

The Xavier Musketeers faced off with Creighton and took a loss by a score of 85-78 in their last game. Xavier walked away from the game with a 40.8% field goal percentage (29 of 71) and buried 7 out of their 21 shots from distance. From the charity stripe, the Musketeers converted 13 of their 14 tries for a percentage of 92.9%. Pertaining to hauling in rebounds, they compiled 36 with 10 of them being offensive. They also recorded 5 dimes in this matchup while forcing 9 turnovers and having 6 steals. With respect to defense, Xavier allowed the other team to go 49.1% from the field on 28 out of 57 shooting. Creighton earned 15 assists and had 4 steals in this matchup. Moreover, Creighton grabbed 32 rebounds (5 offensive, 27 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Creighton finished the game at 72.0% from the free throw line by knocking down 18 of their 25 shots. They also knocked down 11 out of their 28 tries from 3-point range. In relation to fouls, the Musketeers ended up walking away with 19 while Creighton recorded 14 fouls.

Desmond Claude is a guy who was a factor in this game. He racked up 20 points on 7 out of 23 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 33 minutes and collected 4 rebounds. He finished shooting 30.4% from the field but had no dimes when the game ended.

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Xavier heads into this contest with a win-loss mark of 10-9 so far this year. They currently have an average of 76.8 points per contest (113th in the country) while connecting on 44.2% from the field. The Musketeers are shooting 35.1% from downtown (134 of 382) and 73.4% from the free throw line. As a team, Xavier is collecting 40.2 rebounds per game and has 320 assists on the campaign, which ranks 35th in college hoops in terms of passing the rock. They turn it over 11.6 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 17.4 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Musketeers are forcing 11.4 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.3 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 335th in D-1 in giving up assists with 297 relinquished so far this year. The Musketeers are allowing a FG percentage of 40.8% (487 of 1,195) and they concede 36.5 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They concede 32.2% on 3-point attempts while they are 178th in college basketball in points per game from their opponents (71.7).

When they last stepped on the court, the UConn Huskies went home victorious with a score of 66-65 against Villanova. The Huskies recorded 21 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards for a total of 29 for this game. They gave up possession of the ball 7 times, while recording 2 steals for the game. Villanova was called for 21 fouls in the game which took the Huskies to the charity stripe for 24 attempts. They were able to knock down 18 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 75.0%. With respect to shooting from 3-point land, UConn made 8 of 27 tries (29.6%). When this game wrapped up, the Huskies went 20 for 49 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 40.8%. The Huskies allowed Villanova to convert 22 out of 49 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 44.9% for the matchup. They went 30.4% from three-point range by shooting 7 out of 23 and walked away from this one shooting 14 out of 17 from the free throw line (82.4%). In reference to cleaning up the glass, UConn allowed Villanova to collect 26 in total (4 offensive).

Tristen Newton was important for the Huskies in this matchup. He racked up 25 points in his 39 mins of playing time and tallied 3 assists in this contest. He converted 8 of 17 for the matchup for a field goal percentage of 47.1%, and accounted for 6 rebounds.

UConn has a mark of 17-2 on the year. The Huskies commit 17.0 personal fouls per game and they shoot 72.9% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 17.9 times per contest (13th in Division 1) and they turn it over 10.3 times per game. UConn has scored 1,540 pts for the year (81.1 per game) and they pull in 38.1 boards per game. As an offense, the Huskies are shooting 49.4% from the field, which ranks 13th in college hoops.

The Huskies on the defensive side of the court are 32nd in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 64.6. They have forced 11.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 39.9% from the floor (31st in the nation). The UConn defense allows 33.1% on shots from distance (113 of 341) and their opposition knocks down 72.3% of their foul shots. They give up 10.5 assists and 29.7 rebounds every game, which ranks 23rd and 9th in those categories.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UConn (-10)

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