Iona Gaels vs Hofstra Pride Prediction, 12/5/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Iona Gaels vs Hofstra Pride

Date: Saturday, December 5, 2020

Location: David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex in Hempstead, NY

TV: ESPN3

Odds/Point Spread: Iona (+9)

The Hofstra Pride (1-1) play the Iona Gaels (0-1) at David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex on Saturday. Iona opens this contest as 9-point underdogs. The over/under has been set at 143.5.

Iona will take the court with a record of 0-1 for the year. They currently have an average of 64 pts per game (232nd in Division 1) while connecting on 44.4% from the field. The Gaels are hitting 45.0% on three-point attempts (9 of 20) and 77.8% from the free throw line. As a unit, Iona is snagging 27 rebounds per contest and has earned 11 dimes on the campaign, which is 281st in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. They cough up possession 22 times per contest and as a team they are committing 25 personal fouls per game. Defensively, the Gaels have forced 15 turnovers per contest and they draw 15 fouls. They give up 31.8% from beyond the arc while they are 264th in D-1 in points per game allowed (86). The Gaels defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 55.2% (32 of 58) and they relinquish 35 boards per game as a unit. They currently rank 41st in the country in giving up assists to the opposition with 15 surrendered on the season.

The Iona Gaels faced off with the Seton Hall Pirates and went home with a loss by a final score of 86-64 in their last game. Iona finished with a 44.4% field goal percentage (24 out of 54) and made 9 of 20 3-pointers. From the free throw line, the Gaels converted 7 of 9 shots for a percentage of 77.8%. Concerning rebounding, they compiled 25 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 11 assists in the matchup as well as earning 8 steals and 5 rejections. In terms of the defense, Iona allowed their opponent to shoot 44.4% from the floor on 24 out of 54. Seton Hall doled out 15 assists and 13 steals for the matchup. In addition, the Pirates totaled 33 rebounds (13 offensive, 20 defensive) and had 5 blocks. Seton Hall walked away from this one shooting 65.2% when shooting free throws by burying 15 of 23 tries. They also knocked down 7 of 22 shots from beyond the arc.

Isaiah Ross is one player who was important in the matchup. He accumulated 23 points on 8 of 18 shooting. He played for 38 minutes and totaled 4 rebounds. Ross shot 44.4% from the field and earned 2 dimes. One more player that had an impact in this contest for the Gaels was Nelly Junior Joseph. He snagged 6 rebounds and also accumulated 2 assists. He shot 71.4% from the field in this game by going 5-of-7 (13 points). In all, Joseph played for 29 min.

Hofstra has a record of 1-1 this year. The Pride are committing 17.0 fouls per game and they connect on 67.6% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 13.0 times per contest (164th in college basketball) and they cough up possession 11.5 times per contest. Hofstra has 129 pts this season (64.5 per game) and they pull in 39.5 boards per game. As an offense, the Pride are shooting 35.6% from the field, which ranks 334th in the nation. The Pride defensively are ranked 84th in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 64.0. They are able to force 16.0 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 42.7% from the field (160th in college hoops). The Hofstra defense gives up 31.4% on shots from behind the 3-point line (11 of 35) and their opponents are converting on 60.5% of their free throw shots. They relinquish 13.0 assists and 38.5 boards per game, which is 160th and 205th in the nation.

The last time they took the court, the Hofstra Pride walked away with a victory by a final of 73-58 when they faced the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights. The Pride collected 25 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive rebounds for a total of 39 in this matchup. They blocked 4 tries while earning 9 steals in the game. The Knights committed 14 personal fouls for the matchup which took the Pride to the charity stripe for 15 tries. They were able to knock down 11 of them for a percentage of 73.3%. With respect to shots from beyond the arc, Hofstra converted 6 out of their 27 attempts (22.2%). When the final whistle was blown, the Pride ended up going 28 out of 69 from the floor which gave them a rate of 40.6%. The Pride allowed the Knights to knock down 23 of their 55 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 41.8% in this matchup. They finished 33.3% from beyond the arc by shooting 7 of 21 and finished the contest at 5 of 9 from the free throw line (55.6%). In reference to team rebounding, Hofstra permitted Fairleigh Dickinson to pull down 29 in total (5 on the offensive glass).

Jalen Ray ended up being important for the Pride in this game. He converted 3 out of 12 for the game giving him a field goal percentage of 25.0%, which gave him 6 points. Ray pulled down 4 rebounds in his 35 mins and accounted for 9 assists for the matchup. Another guy who was a determining factor for Hofstra was Tareq Coburn. He notched 21 points in his 32 minutes on the hardwood via 7 out of 13 shooting in the matchup. Coburn ended the game having shot 53.8% from the floor while contributing 2 assists and 3 total rebounds.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Iona (+9)

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