Pepperdine Waves vs UNLV Runnin' Rebels Prediction, 12/14/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Pepperdine Waves vs UNLV Runnin' Rebels

Date: Monday, December 14, 2020

Location: Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Pepperdine (+1)

Thomas & Mack Center is the site where and the UNLV Runnin' Rebels (1-4) will play the Pepperdine Waves (3-3) on Monday. UNLV opens this contest as 1-point favorites. The total is set at 150.5.

Pepperdine enters this one with a mark of 3-3 so far this season. The Waves are shooting 31.7% on three-point attempts (51 of 161) and 86.9% from the free throw line. They average 82.7 pts per game (54th in the nation) while hitting 47.3% from the floor. They are giving up possession 14.2 times per contest and as a team they are committing 21.0 personal fouls per game. As a unit, Pepperdine is snagging 37.5 boards per game and has earned 113 dimes so far this season, which has them ranked 9th in Division 1 in terms of passing. On the defensive end of the court, the Waves are forcing their opponents into 13.3 turnovers per game while drawing 19.2 personal fouls. The Waves defensively are allowing a shooting percentage of 40.5% (155 of 383) and they relinquish 35.8 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They rank 270th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 82 surrendered on the season. They are surrendering 24.5% on shots from distance and they are 218th in college hoops in PPG allowed (73.3).

The Pepperdine Waves took the court against the Cal State Northridge Matadors and went home with a loss by a final score of 89-84 in their last contest. Pepperdine finished the contest having earned a 49.1% field goal percentage (26 out of 53) and converted 8 out of their 21 3-pointers. When they shot from the free throw line, the Waves made 24 of 28 shots for a percentage of 85.7%. When discussing pulling down rebounds, they compiled 36 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 16 dimes in this game in addition to getting 2 steals and 2 blocked shots. In reference to defense, Pepperdine allowed the other team to go 49.1% from the field on 26 of 53. Cal State Northridge totaled 15 assists and 7 steals in this game. On top of that, the Matadors collected 28 boards (10 offensive, 18 defensive) and had 2 rejections. Cal State Northridge ended up going 62.5% from the charity stripe by knocking down 10 of 16 attempts. They also buried 7 out of their 25 attempts from distance.

Colbey Ross is a player who saw a lot of minutes for this game. He accounted for 29 points on 7 out of 15 shooting. He saw the court for 37 mins and also totaled 5 boards. Ross walked away from this one shooting 46.7% from the floor and earned 9 dimes. One more player that had an impact in this matchup for the Waves was Kessler Edwards. He snagged 9 boards and also accounted for 2 assists. He went 46.7% from the field in this game by going 7-of-15 (21 points). In all, Edwards saw the court for 37 min.

UNLV has a mark of 1-4 on the year. UNLV has totaled 344 points so far this year (68.8 per game) and they collect 31.2 rebounds per contest. The Runnin' Rebels are committing 20.8 fouls per contest and they connect on 70.3% from the free throw line. As an offense, the Runnin' Rebels are connecting on 41.5% from the field, which is 277th in college basketball. Their rate of earning assists is at 12.0 times per contest (247th in college basketball) and they lose possession via turnover 13.8 times per game. The Runnin' Rebels on defense are ranked 261st in the country in points per game surrendered with 78.0. They are able to force 13.0 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 45.7% from the floor (247th in D-1). The UNLV defense allows 37.9% on shots from beyond the arc (47 of 124) and their opponents are converting on 75.7% of their free throw shots. They have relinquished 15.0 dimes and 37.6 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 244th and 232nd in the nation.

The last time they took the court, the UNLV Runnin' Rebels got the win with a final of 68-58 when they played the Kansas State Wildcats. The Runnin' Rebels recorded 23 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 29 for this game. They also turned away 2 attempts while recording 7 steals in this game. The Wildcats were called for 13 personal fouls for the matchup which took the Runnin' Rebels to the free throw line for a total of 6 attempts. They were able to knock down 4 of them for a percentage of 66.7%. Pertaining to shooting from beyond the arc, UNLV buried 12 of 27 tries (44.4%). At the conclusion of this game, the Runnin' Rebels shot 26 out of 50 from the field which gave them a percentage of 52.0%. The Runnin' Rebels permitted the Wildcats to make 22 out of their 61 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 36.1% for the game. They finished the game shooting 29.2% from distance via 7 of 24 and finished the game at 7 of 9 from the free throw line (77.8%). Regarding cleaning the glass, UNLV permitted Kansas State to pull down 30 in all (12 on the offensive glass).

Bryce Hamilton was pivotal for the Runnin' Rebels for this game. He knocked down 8 out of 15 for the contest for a field goal rate of 53.3%, which had him sitting at 18 points. Hamilton collected 8 rebounds in his 35 mins played and had 6 dimes in this game. An additional guy that was important for UNLV was David Jenkins. He totaled 25 points in 30 minutes played by way of 9 of 17 from the floor in the game. Jenkins ended up shooting 52.9% from the field as well as earning 2 assists and 2 boards.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UNLV (-1)

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