UAB Blazers vs East Tennessee State Buccaneers Prediction, 12/12/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: UAB Blazers vs East Tennessee State Buccaneers

Date: Saturday, December 12, 2020

Location: Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City, TN

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: UAB (-6.5)

The East Tennessee State Buccaneers (1-2) play the UAB Blazers (5-0) at Freedom Hall Civic Center on Saturday. UAB opens this game as 6.5-point favorites. The over/under opens at 136.

UAB enters this game with a win-loss mark of 5-0 this year. They currently have an average of 84.4 points per contest (47th in the nation) while going 50.2% from the field. The Blazers are shooting 32.9% on shots from beyond the arc (28 of 85) and 70.0% from the free throw line. As a unit, UAB is collecting 41.0 rebounds per game and has 48 dimes on the season, which ranks 198th in the country in terms of passing. They are giving up possession 11.8 times per contest and as a basketball team they are committing 19.6 fouls every game. When they are on defense, the Blazers are forcing their opponents into 19.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 20.6 personal fouls. They rank 54th in Division 1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 31 relinquished for the campaign. The Blazers defensively are allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 32.8% (96 of 293) and they relinquish 36.6 boards per game as a team. They are conceding 21.1% on shots from downtown and they rank 15th in the nation in points per game from their opponents (55.2).

The UAB Blazers stepped onto the hardwood against the Tuskegee University Golden Tigers and notched a win by a score of 89-64 in their last contest. UAB wrapped up the contest having earned a 56.0% FG percentage (28 of 50) and knocked down 4 of their 13 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the charity stripe, the Blazers buried 29 of 45 attempts for a percentage of 64.4%. In reference to pulling down boards, they compiled a total of 36 with 7 of them being offensive. They also doled out 8 dimes in the game as well as earning 7 steals and 6 blocked shots. With regard to defense, UAB allowed 56.0% from the floor on 28 out of 50. Tuskegee totaled 7 dimes and 2 steals in this game. Additionally, the Golden Tigers snagged 31 rebounds (10 offensive, 21 defensive) and added 6 blocks. Tuskegee finished the contest at 65.5% from the charity stripe by knocking down 19 of their 29 tries. They also knocked down 9 out of their 31 tries from 3-point land.

Quan Jackson is a player who saw a lot of court time in the matchup. He walked away with 22 points on 7 out of 14 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 34 mins played and collected 7 boards. Jackson shot 50.0% from the floor and also earned 2 dimes. An additional guy that saw the court a lot in the matchup for the Blazers was Tavin Lovan. He collected 5 rebounds and also had 2 assists. He finished the game at 71.4% from the field for this game by going 5-of-7 (22 points). Overall, Lovan played for 30 min.

East Tennessee State has a mark of 1-2 this season. The Buccaneers commit 21.0 personal fouls per contest and they go 66.7% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 8.7 times per game (301st in college basketball) and they turn the ball over 19.3 times per contest. East Tennessee State has accounted for 170 points this year (56.7 per game) and they pull down 36.3 rebounds per contest. On the offensive side of the court, the Buccaneers are connecting on 35.5% from the field, which is 339th in the nation. The Buccaneers on the defensive end are ranked 40th in the nation in points allowed per game with 60.0. They are able to force 19.3 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 36.6% from the floor (38th in the nation). The East Tennessee State defense concedes 34.5% on shots from distance (20 of 58) and their opponents are converting on 68.9% of their foul shots. They have allowed 10.3 assists and 35.3 total rebounds per game, ranking them 57th and 147th in D-1.

When they last stepped on the court, the East Tennessee State Buccaneers took home the win by a final score of 57-43 against the MTSU Blue Raiders. The Buccaneers recorded 30 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 37 in this game. They also blocked 2 attempts while getting 12 steals for this contest. The Blue Raiders had 24 personal fouls in this game which took the Buccaneers to the free throw line for a total of 19 shots. They were able to make 13 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 68.4%. When talking about shooting from beyond the arc, East Tennessee State converted 4 out of their 22 tries (18.2%). When the final whistle was blown, the Buccaneers shot 20 for 58 from the floor which gave them a rate of 34.5%. The Buccaneers allowed the Blue Raiders to knock down 15 out of 50 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 30.0% in the matchup. They finished shooting 19.0% from downtown by shooting 4 of 21 and ended up shooting 9 out of 12 at the free throw line (75.0%). With respect to cleaning the glass, East Tennessee State permitted MTSU to pull down 33 in all (6 offensive).

Ledarrius Brewer was pivotal for the Buccaneers in this game. He converted 7 of 19 for this game giving him a rate of 36.8%, which had him sitting at 20 points. Brewer collected 8 boards in his 35 mins played and had 2 dimes for the matchup. An additional guy who was a determining factor for East Tennessee State was Silas Adheke. He ended up with 8 points in 22 minutes on the hardwood by way of 4 out of 5 from the floor in the matchup. Adheke finished going 80.0% from the floor and also totaling 2 assists and 7 boards.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UAB (-6.5)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here