Yale Bulldogs vs San Diego State Aztecs Prediction, 3/24/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Yale Bulldogs vs San Diego State Aztecs

Date: Sunday, March 24, 2024

Location: Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena in Spokane, WA

TV: TBS

Odds/Point Spread: Yale (+6)

The Yale Bulldogs (23-9) are traveling to Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena on Sunday where they will go up against the San Diego State Aztecs (25-10) in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. San Diego State opens this contest as 6-point favorites from Vegas oddsmakers. The total has been set at 128.5.

The Yale Bulldogs took the court against Auburn and walked away with a win by a score of 78-76 in their last game. With respect to fouls, the Bulldogs ended up walking away with 19 and Auburn totaled 25 fouls. They also knocked down 7 out of their 20 attempts from 3-point range. Auburn ended up going 68.2% when shooting free throws by making 15 of 22 shots. On top of that, Auburn totaled 34 boards (9 offensive, 25 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Auburn earned 11 assists and had 6 steals in this contest. When discussing the defense, Yale allowed their opponent to shoot 50.9% from the floor on 27 of 53 shooting. They also distributed 10 dimes in this game as well as forcing the opposition into 14 turnovers and having 10 steals. With regard to grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 20 with 5 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Bulldogs knocked down 21 of their 31 tries for a rate of 67.7%. Yale walked away from the game with a 46.2% field goal percentage (24 out of 52) and converted 9 of their 20 shots from beyond the perimeter.

John Poulakidas is a guy who came through for this contest. He went 66.7% from the field and dished out 2 assists. He was on the court for 36 minutes and grabbed 2 boards. He was able to score 28 points on 10 out of 15 shooting.

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Yale comes into this matchup with a mark of 23-9 this season. They average 75.3 points per game (126th in D-1) on 46.9% from the floor. The Bulldogs are connecting on 35.0% from downtown (234 of 668) and 70.7% from the charity stripe. As a team, Yale is pulling down 36.9 rebounds per game and has racked up 482 dimes for the year, which has them ranked 93rd in the nation in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession by turning the ball over 9.5 times per game and as a basketball team they commit 15.2 fouls every game.

On the defensive end of the court, the Bulldogs are able to force 11.0 turnovers per game while drawing 16.1 fouls. They are currently ranked 228th in college hoops in allowing assists with 435 conceded so far this season. The Bulldogs defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 41.7% (759 of 1,818) and they surrender 32.4 rebounds per contest as a squad. They are surrendering 33.3% on shots from downtown while they are 47th in college basketball in points per game allowed (66.9).

When they last stepped on the court, the San Diego State Aztecs took home the win by a final score of 69-65 when they played UAB. In regard to how they rebounded, San Diego State permitted UAB to collect 22 in total (8 offensive). They finished 35.0% from three-point range by shooting 7 of 20 and finished the contest at 18 of 24 at the free throw line (75.0%). The Aztecs permitted UAB to bury 20 out of 53 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 37.7% in this matchup. When the game finished, the Aztecs went 24 for 55 from the field which had them shooting 43.6%. In terms of shots from beyond the perimeter, San Diego State made 5 of their 18 attempts (27.8%). They were able to make 16 of the free throws for a rate of 80.0%. UAB had 18 fouls for the matchup which got the Aztecs to the charity stripe for a total of 20 attempts. They turned the ball over 12 times, while recording 11 steals for this contest. The Aztecs recorded 18 defensive boards and 13 offensive boards for a total of 31 for this game.

Jaedon Ledee was important for the Aztecs in the matchup. He racked up 32 points in his 35 minutes on the hardwood, but wasn't able to get an assist. He knocked down 11 of 18 in this contest giving him a rate of 61.1%, and totaled 8 rebounds.

San Diego State has a record of 25-10 for the year. The Aztecs are committing 17.6 fouls per contest and they hit 73.4% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 13.0 times per game (188th in the country) and they are giving up possession 11.1 times per game. San Diego State has totaled 2,605 pts for the season (74.4 per game) and they pull in 38.0 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Aztecs are hitting on 44.0% from the floor, which is 225th in D-1.

The San Diego State defense allows 30.7% on shots from beyond the arc (252 of 822) and opponents are knocking down 71.0% of their free throw shots. They relinquish 11.3 dimes and 33.4 boards per game, which ranks them 57th and 104th in the country. The Aztecs on the defensive side of the court are 33rd in the country in points per game surrendered with 66.5. They are forcing their opponents into 12.5 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 40.4% from the field (18th in D-1).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take San Diego State (-6)

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