Southern Utah Thunderbirds vs Utah Valley Wolverines Prediction, 12/9/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Southern Utah Thunderbirds vs Utah Valley Wolverines

Date: Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Location: UCCU Center in Orem, UT

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Southern Utah (-2.5)

UCCU Center is the venue where and the Utah Valley Wolverines (1-1) will play the Southern Utah Thunderbirds (3-1) on Wednesday. Southern Utah opens this matchup as 2.5-point favorites. The over/under has been set at 144.5.

Southern Utah will enter this matchup with a mark of 3-1 so far this season. They turn the ball over 12.0 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 17.0 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Southern Utah is pulling down 34.0 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 59 dimes on the campaign, which is 86th in college hoops in terms of passing the rock. The Thunderbirds are hitting 35.8% on shots from distance (39 of 109) and 70.5% from the free throw line. They average 79.3 pts per game (89th in college hoops) on 46.6% from the floor. Defensively, the Thunderbirds are forcing 14.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 19.5 personal fouls. The Thunderbirds defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 45.4% (99 of 218) and they surrender 29.8 rebounds per contest as a unit. They are 228th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 55 relinquished this year. They concede 38.2% on 3-pointers while they are 121st in the nation in points per game allowed (67.3).

The Southern Utah Thunderbirds took the court against the Montana Grizzlies and earned the victory with a final of 75-74 in their last game. Southern Utah finished with a 43.3% field goal percentage (26 of 60) and buried 10 of 33 shots from downtown. At the charity stripe, the Thunderbirds made 13 of their 16 attempts for a rate of 81.3%. Pertaining to grabbing rebounds, they earned 33 with 10 of them being offensive. They also dished out 13 dimes in this matchup in addition to earning 9 steals and 4 rejections. In the matter of defense, Southern Utah allowed the other team to shoot 43.3% from the floor on 26 of 60. Montana doled out 17 assists and 4 steals in the matchup. Furthurmore, the Grizzlies pulled down 24 rebounds (2 offensive, 22 defensive) and had 4 blocks. Montana ended up shooting 80.0% from the charity stripe by burying 12 of their 15 attempts. They also converted 8 of 14 attempts from beyond the arc.

Tevian Jones is one player who saw a lot of action for this game. He scored 19 points on 6 of 16 shooting. He was on the court for 37 mins played and also pulled down 2 boards. Jones finished the game shooting 37.5% from the floor and also earned 3 assists. Someone else that saw a lot of court time in this matchup for the Thunderbirds was Dre Marin. He totaled 8 rebounds and accounted for 2 assists. He ended up going 50.0% from the floor for the game by going 6-of-12 (19 points). When the final whistle blew, Marin was on the court for 37 min.

Utah Valley has a mark of 1-1 for the season. As an offensive unit, the Wolverines are shooting 41.0% from the floor, which has them ranked 281st in Division 1. Utah Valley has earned 139 points on the campaign (69.5 per contest) and they pull in 34.0 rebounds per contest. They are assisting teammates 16.5 times per game (75th in the nation) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 15.5 times per game. The Wolverines are committing 19.5 fouls every game and they shoot 63.8% from the charity stripe. The Wolverines on the defensive side of the court are 234th in college basketball in points allowed per contest with 76.5. The Utah Valley defense concedes 36.2% on shots from 3-point land (17 of 47) and opponents are making 81.1% of their foul shots. They concede 17.0 dimes and 35.5 boards every game, which is ranked 266th and 147th in the country. They are able to force 17.5 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.9% from the field (251st in D-1).

For their last game, the Utah Valley Wolverines got the win with a final of 79-71 against the Westminster College Griffins. The Wolverines were able to collect 26 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 36 in the matchup. They turned away 3 tries while earning 8 steals for the contest. The Griffins committed 25 fouls for this contest which got the Wolverines to the charity stripe for a total of 26 shots. They were able to knock down 17 of the free throws for a rate of 65.4%. With regard to shooting from downtown, Utah Valley converted 8 out of their 24 tries (33.3%). Overall, the Wolverines went 27 for 60 from the floor which gave them a rate of 45.0%. The Wolverines permitted the Griffins to make 23 of 56 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.1% for the contest. They finished the game shooting 27.3% from distance by shooting 6 of 22 and ended up shooting 19 of 23 from the free throw line (82.6%). In reference to how they rebounded, Utah Valley allowed Westminster to snag 32 overall (7 on the offensive side).

Fardaws Aimaq played a lot for the Wolverines in this contest. He buried 6 of 13 in the matchup giving him a rate of 46.2%, which gave him 12 points. Aimaq grabbed 18 boards in his 33 minutes and tallied 3 assists in the matchup. Another guy that ended up playing a role for Utah Valley was Jamison Overton. He scored 16 points in 30 minutes played by way of 7 out of 10 from the floor for the matchup. Overton ended up shooting 70.0% from the floor and also totaling 2 assists and 3 boards.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Utah Valley (+2.5)

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