Sam Houston State Bearkats vs MTSU Blue Raiders Prediction, 2/22/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Sam Houston State Bearkats vs MTSU Blue Raiders

Date: Saturday, February 22, 2025

Location: Murphy Center in Louisville, KY

TV: ESPN+

The Sam Houston State Bearkats (10-16) are traveling to Murphy Center on Saturday where they will compete against the MTSU Blue Raiders (17-8).

The Sam Houston State Bearkats faced Kennesaw State and took home the win by a score of 78-76 in their last contest. In reference to personal fouls, the Bearkats left the arena with 17 and Kennesaw State totaled 21 personal fouls. They also converted 15 of their 36 tries from long range. Kennesaw State shot 72.2% at the charity stripe by making 13 of 18 tries. Moreover, Kennesaw State collected 29 rebounds (7 offensive, 22 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Kennesaw State dished out 9 dimes and had 7 steals in this game. In relation to the defense, Sam Houston State allowed 42.1% from the field on 24 of 57 shooting. They also dished out 9 dimes in this game as well as forcing the opposition into 13 turnovers and getting 5 steals. When talking about hauling in boards, they collected 24 with 4 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Bearkats made 22 of their 33 shots for a rate of 66.7%. Sam Houston State walked away from the game having earned a 53.2% FG percentage (25 out of 47) and made 6 of 17 3-point attempts.

Lamar Wilkerson is someone who had an impact for this contest. He ended up scoring 25 points on 9 of 15 shooting. He saw the court for 37 mins played and grabbed 5 rebounds. He finished shooting 60.0% from the floor and also earned 2 assists.

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Sam Houston State heads into this one with a record of 10-16 so far this year. They turn the ball over 13.0 times per game and as a squad they commit 18.0 fouls every game. As a unit, Sam Houston State is pulling in 36.0 rebounds per game and has 342 dimes on the campaign, which is 244th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Bearkats are connecting on 38.3% on 3-pointers (223 of 583) and 72.0% from the charity stripe. They average 75.7 points per contest (133rd in the country) while going 44.2% from the field.

Defensively, the Bearkats are forcing 12.9 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.0 personal fouls. They rank 243rd in D-1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 367 surrendered for the season. The Bearkats are giving up a shooting percentage of 44.6% (691 of 1,548) and they concede 35.2 rebounds per game as a squad. They are surrendering 34.7% on three-point shots and they are ranked 295th in the nation in opponents PPG (75.8).

When they last stepped on the court, the MTSU Blue Raiders got the victory with a final of 87-77 when they faced Western Kentucky. In relation to attacking the glass, MTSU allowed Western Kentucky to collect 42 in total (17 on the offensive side). They finished 28.6% from 3-point land by going 8 out of 28 and ended up going 9 of 17 at the free throw line (52.9%). The Blue Raiders allowed Western Kentucky to convert 30 of 79 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 38.0% in the game. When the game finished, the Blue Raiders walked away from this one shooting 31 for 70 from the field which had them shooting 44.3%. Regarding shooting from beyond the arc, MTSU knocked down 9 out of 29 attempts (31.0%). They were able to convert 16 of those for a clip of 72.7%. Western Kentucky was called for 17 fouls for this game which got the Blue Raiders to the charity stripe for 22 tries. They also turned it over 6 times, while recording 3 steals for this game. The Blue Raiders earned 34 defensive boards and 12 offensive rebounds totaling 46 for the contest.

Essam Mostafa ended up being a major contributor for the Blue Raiders for the game. He buried 8 out of 11 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 72.7%, and earned 16 rebounds. He had 21 points in his 33 mins on the court and totaled 2 assists in this contest.

MTSU has a mark of 17-8 this season. The Blue Raiders are committing 17.1 fouls every game while shooting 67.2% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 12.5 times per game (269th in college hoops) and they turn it over 11.1 times per game. MTSU has totaled 1,906 points for the season (76.2 per contest) and they pull in 38.2 boards per contest. As an offensive unit, the Blue Raiders are connecting on 45.6% from the field, which ranks them 139th in the country.

The MTSU defense allows 29.6% from downtown (164 of 554) and their opponents are connecting on 73.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They allow 12.5 assists and 36.0 rebounds per game, which is 126th and 277th in the nation. The Blue Raiders on the defensive side of the court are 161st in D-1 in PPG surrendered with 71.0. They are forcing 11.9 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 41.8% from the field (79th in the nation).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take MTSU

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