FIU Panthers vs MTSU Blue Raiders Prediction, 3/8/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: FIU Panthers vs MTSU Blue Raiders

Date: Saturday, March 8, 2025

Location: Murphy Center in Madison, WI

TV: ESPN+

The FIU Panthers (9-20) are traveling to Murphy Center on Saturday where they will compete against the MTSU Blue Raiders (20-9).

The FIU Panthers took the court against Jacksonville State and took a loss by a final of 84-79 in their last game. With respect to fouls, the Panthers ended up finishing with 19 and Jacksonville State accounted for 15 fouls. They buried 6 of 22 attempts from long range. Jacksonville State finished the game shooting 82.8% when shooting free throws by converting 24 of their 29 tries. Furthermore, Jacksonville State had 39 rebounds (10 offensive, 29 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Jacksonville State earned 12 dimes and had 5 steals in this contest. When discussing the defense, FIU allowed 39.1% from the floor on 27 out of 69 shooting. They also distributed 13 assists in this contest while forcing 11 turnovers and earning 8 steals. Concerning pulling down rebounds, they compiled 37 with 9 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Panthers made 17 of their 21 shots for a rate of 81.0%. FIU finished the contest with a 41.4% field goal percentage (29 out of 70) and converted 4 of their 20 shots from 3-point land.

Jonathan Aybar is one player who had an impact in the game. He ended up with 19 points on 5 of 13 shooting. He played 37 mins and also snagged 6 boards. He finished shooting 38.5% from the floor but had no assists when the time ran out.

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FIU steps onto the hardwood with a record of 9-20 on the campaign. They are averaging 70.4 points per contest (278th in the country) while going 43.3% from the field. The Panthers are shooting 29.0% on shots from 3-point land (145 of 500) and 71.3% from the charity stripe. As a unit, FIU is pulling in 35.0 rebounds per contest and has racked up 366 assists on the year, which is 292nd in the country in terms of passing. They lose possession by turning the ball over 14.0 times per game and as a unit they commit 17.2 personal fouls per game.

When they are on defense, the Panthers are able to force 15.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.4 personal fouls. They currently rank 231st in college hoops in allowing assists to their opponents with 413 surrendered on the season. The Panthers defensively are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 44.5% (721 of 1,620) and they surrender 34.1 rebounds per game as a unit. They are giving up 34.0% on 3-point attempts and they are 195th in D-1 in points per game from their opponents (72.4).

For their last game, the MTSU Blue Raiders went home victorious with a score of 76-75 against UTEP. The Blue Raiders recorded 31 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive rebounds for a total of 43 in the matchup. They coughed up the ball 11 times, while getting 6 steals for the matchup. UTEP earned 13 personal fouls in this game which got the Blue Raiders to the free throw line for a total of 15 attempts. They were able to knock down 8 of them for a percentage of 53.3%. In reference to shots from downtown, MTSU buried 8 of 37 attempts (21.6%). When the final whistle blew, the Blue Raiders walked away from this one shooting 30 out of 78 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 38.5%. The Blue Raiders permitted UTEP to knock down 27 of their 64 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.2% in the matchup. They finished shooting 21.7% from distance by shooting 5 out of 23 and walked away from this one shooting 16 of 22 from the charity stripe (72.7%). With respect to how they rebounded, MTSU allowed UTEP to grab 40 overall (5 on the offensive glass).

Essam Mostafa was important for the Blue Raiders in the game. He made 6 of 9 in this matchup giving him a rate of 66.7%, and had 16 rebounds. He earned 16 points in his 35 minutes on the court and had 2 assists for the matchup.

MTSU has a mark of 20-9 on the season. As an offensive unit, the Blue Raiders are connecting on 45.3% from the floor, which is ranked 148th in the country. MTSU has earned 2,201 points for the season (75.9 per game) and they average 38.0 rebounds per contest. They are dishing out assists 12.5 times per game (268th in college) and they are turning it over 11.2 times per contest. The Blue Raiders are committing 17.0 personal fouls every game and they connect on 67.8% from the free throw line.

The MTSU defense surrenders 30.7% from downtown (197 of 641) and their opponents are knocking down 73.5% of their shots from the charity stripe. They concede 12.5 assists and 35.8 rebounds per contest, which has them ranked 125th and 268th in college hoops. The Blue Raiders defensively are ranked 161st in college in PPG given up with 71.4. They are forcing their opponents into 11.7 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 42.0% from the floor (83rd in Division 1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take MTSU

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