Montana Grizzlies vs Southern Utah Thunderbirds Prediction, 12/3/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Montana Grizzlies vs Southern Utah Thunderbirds

Date: Thursday, December 3, 2020

Location: America First Events Center in Cedar City, UT

TV: No TV

Odds/Point Spread: Montana (+1)

The Southern Utah Thunderbirds (1-1) host the Montana Grizzlies (0-1) at America First Events Center on Thursday. Montana opens this matchup as 1-point dogs. The total is set at 143.5.

Montana heads into this game with a record of 0-1 so far this season. The Grizzlies are hitting 23.5% on 3-point shots (4 of 17) and 61.5% from the free throw line. They have an average of 62.0 points per contest (231st in Division 1) while connecting on 33.9% from the field. They lose possession by turning the ball over 12 times per contest and as a unit they commit 29 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Montana is pulling down 29 boards per game and is sitting with 8 assists this year, which has them ranked 269th in college basketball in terms of passing the ball. On the defensive end of the court, the Grizzlies are able to force 16 turnovers every game while drawing 24 personal fouls. The Grizzlies are giving up a FG percentage of 50.0% (23 of 46) and they concede 43 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They rank 57th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 17 relinquished for the campaign. They give up 42.9% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 201st in college basketball in PPG from their opponents (76).

The Montana Grizzlies faced the USC Trojans and went home with a loss by a final score of 76-62 in their last game. Montana ended the contest having earned a 33.9% field goal percentage (21 of 62) and made 4 out of their 17 shots from downtown. At the charity stripe, the Grizzlies converted 16 of their 26 attempts for a percentage of 61.5%. In relation to getting rebounds, they earned 22 with 11 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 8 dimes for the game as well as getting 6 steals and 2 rejections. With regard to defending, Montana allowed the other team to go 33.9% from the floor on 21 out of 62. USC recorded 17 assists and 1 steal for this game. In addition, the Trojans collected 41 boards (12 offensive, 29 defensive) and added 2 rejections. USC finished shooting 61.5% at the free throw line by burying 24 of their 39 attempts. They also knocked down 6 of their 14 tries from distance.

Josh Bannan is someone who was a factor in this game. He ended up walking away with 13 points on 5 out of 11 shooting. He played 35 minutes and snagged 4 boards. Bannan walked away from this one shooting 45.5% from the floor and totaled 2 assists. One more player that was a contributor in this game for the Grizzlies was Michael Steadman. He collected 2 rebounds and earned 2 dimes. He walked away from this one shooting 37.5% from the floor for the contest by going 3-of-8 (7 points). In all, Steadman saw the court for 22 minutes.

Southern Utah has a record of 1-1 so far this season. The Thunderbirds are responsible for committing 18.0 fouls every game and they go 71.9% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 19.5 times per contest (31st in the nation) and they are turning it over 14.0 times per contest. Southern Utah has scored 178 points so far this season (89.0 per game) and they pull in 33.0 boards per game. When it comes to offense, the Thunderbirds are connecting on 53.7% from the floor, which is 100th in college hoops. The Thunderbirds on the defensive end are ranked 97th in college hoops in PPG surrendered with 66.0. They are forcing 16.0 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 41.4% from the floor (124th in college hoops). The Southern Utah defense gives up 31.6% on shots from behind the 3-point line (12 of 38) and opponents are knocking down 61.5% of their shots from the free throw line. They have surrendered 12.0 dimes and 29.5 boards per contest, which has them ranked 134th and 34th in college hoops.

In their last game, the Southern Utah Thunderbirds got the win with a final of 95-47 when they played the Saint Katherine Firebirds. The Thunderbirds pulled down 27 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive boards totaling 35 in this game. They also stuffed 5 tries while getting 9 steals in this contest. The Firebirds had 15 personal fouls for the game which got the Thunderbirds to the free throw line for a total of 14 attempts. They were able to bury 9 of the free throw tries for a rate of 64.3%. With respect to shooting from distance, Southern Utah converted 12 out of their 30 tries (40.0%). In all, the Thunderbirds went 37 for 63 from the field which had them shooting 58.7%. The Thunderbirds allowed the Firebirds to make 19 out of their 60 tries from the floor which had them shooting 31.7% for this contest. They went 27.3% from downtown via 6 of 22 and walked away from this one shooting 3 out of 8 at the charity stripe (37.5%). When talking about rebounding, Southern Utah permitted Saint Katherine to collect 27 overall (10 on the offensive side).

Harrison Butler ended up seeing a lot of time on the hardwood for the Thunderbirds in this matchup. He converted 3 of 6 for the contest giving him a rate of 50.0%, which got him 11 points. Butler grabbed 7 rebounds in his 24 mins and accumulated 4 assists in the game. One more player who saw a lot of minutes for Southern Utah was Dre Marin. He finished with 15 points in his 22 minutes played by going 6 of 9 shooting for the game. Marin ended the game having shot 66.7% from the floor and also earning 2 dimes and 3 total rebounds.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Southern Utah (-1)

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