Western Illinois Leathernecks vs Miami RedHawks Prediction, 12/9/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Western Illinois Leathernecks vs Miami Redhawks

Date: Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Location: Millett Hall in Oxford, OH

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Western Illinois (+15)

The Miami Redhawks (1-1) host the Western Illinois Leathernecks (0-2) at Millett Hall on Wednesday. Miami opens this contest as 15-point favorites. The over/under is set at 142.

Western Illinois heads into this game with a mark of 0-2 this season. The Leathernecks are hitting 25.5% on 3-pointers (13 of 51) and 50.0% from the free throw line. They are averaging 65.5 points per contest (239th in D-1) while shooting 36.0% from the field. They are turning it over 15.0 times per contest and as a team they commit 20.5 fouls per game. As a team, Western Illinois is snagging 39.0 rebounds per game and has accounted for 36 dimes on the campaign, which has them ranked 213th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. On defense, the Leathernecks are able to force 12.5 turnovers per game and they draw 20.5 personal fouls. They give up 37.8% on 3-point attempts and they are ranked 291st in college basketball in opponents PPG (89.0). The Leathernecks defensively are allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 48.9% (65 of 133) and they concede 47.0 rebounds per game as a squad. They are 156th in Division 1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 42 surrendered on the year.

The Western Illinois Leathernecks stepped onto the hardwood against the Central Michigan Chippewas and took a loss by a score of 79-73 in their last contest. Western Illinois ended having earned a 44.1% FG percentage (26 of 59) and converted 7 of their 20 3-point attempts. When they shot from the free throw line, the Leathernecks knocked down 14 of their 26 shots for a percentage of 53.8%. In terms of pulling down rebounds, they earned 33 with 10 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 19 dimes for this contest while earning 7 steals and 4 blocks. Concerning defending, Western Illinois let their opponent shoot 44.1% from the field on 26 out of 59. Central Michigan dished out 17 dimes and 8 steals in this matchup. In addition, the Chippewas snagged 34 rebounds (6 offensive, 28 defensive) and earned 4 rejections. Central Michigan finished the game at 75.0% at the charity stripe by converting 9 of 12 attempts. They also knocked down 6 of 14 attempts from beyond the arc.

Rod Johnson is one player who saw a lot of action in the matchup. He walked away with 15 points on 6 of 13 shooting. He was on the court for 34 minutes and collected 3 boards. Johnson finished the game at 46.2% from the floor and distributed 3 assists. Someone else that saw a lot of court time in this matchup for the Leathernecks was Tamell Pearson. He grabbed 9 rebounds and collected 2 dimes. He finished shooting 66.7% from the field for this game by hitting 10-of-15 (22 points). When the final whistle blew, Pearson saw the court for 33 min.

Miami has a record of 1-1 for the season. As an offense, the RedHawks are hitting on 38.2% from the floor, which has them ranked 320th in the country. Miami has totaled 128 points for the year (64.0 per game) and they average 35.5 boards per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 8.5 times per game (291st in the country) and they are turning it over 12.0 times per contest. The RedHawks are responsible for committing 18.0 fouls per game and they hit 74.2% from the charity stripe. The RedHawks on the defensive side of the court are 143rd in D-1 in PPG given up with 69.0. They are able to force 16.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 43.1% from the field (177th in college hoops). The Miami defense gives up 28.6% on 3-pointers (14 of 49) and their opponents are converting on 72.7% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 13.5 assists and 40.0 total boards per game, which is ranked 179th and 250th in D-1.

When they last played, the Miami RedHawks took a defeat with a final score of 71-47 against the Wright State Raiders. The RedHawks earned 23 defensive boards and 13 offensive rebounds for a total of 36 in the game. They turned away 4 attempts while earning 4 steals for the matchup. The Raiders committed 14 fouls for the game which got the RedHawks to the free throw line for a total of 9 shots. They were able to knock down 5 of the free throws for a percentage of 55.6%. In the matter of 3-pointers, Miami made 6 of their 20 attempts (30.0%). Overall, the RedHawks finished 18 out of 66 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 27.3%. The RedHawks permitted the Raiders to make 29 of 62 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 46.8% for the contest. They went 31.8% from beyond the arc by shooting 7 of 22 and walked away from this one shooting 6 out of 9 at the free throw line (66.7%). In relation to rebounds, Miami permitted Wright State to grab 46 overall (10 offensive).

James Beck ended up having an impact for the RedHawks for the matchup. He buried 4 of 12 for this game for a field goal percentage of 33.3%, which earned him 8 points. Beck grabbed 6 boards in his 26 minutes and added 2 assists for the contest. One more player that ended up being a major factor for Miami was Dalonte Brown. He notched 8 points in his 29 minutes on the hardwood by going 3 out of 8 shooting in the game. Brown finished going 37.5% from the field while also contributing 2 assists and 7 boards.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Miami (-15)

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