Columbia Lions vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights Prediction, 12/30/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Columbia Lions vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Date: Monday, December 30, 2024

Location: Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, NJ

TV: BTN

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights (7-5) will try to defeat the Columbia Lions (10-1) at Jersey Mike’s Arena on Monday.

The Columbia Lions played Sarah Lawrence and earned the victory with a final of 92-46 in their last game. Columbia ended the game with a 54.8% FG percentage (34 out of 62) and made 7 out of their 28 shots from downtown. At the charity stripe, the Lions knocked down 17 of their 21 attempts for a percentage of 81.0%. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they earned 47 with 15 of them being offensive. They also distributed 24 assists in the matchup as well as creating 16 turnovers and having 15 steals. In regard to defense, Columbia allowed the other team to go 31.0% from the field on 18 of 58 shooting. Sarah Lawrence earned 11 assists and had 6 steals for the contest. Moreover, Sarah Lawrence totaled 17 rebounds (4 offensive, 13 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Sarah Lawrence finished the contest at 66.7% at the charity stripe by knocking down 2 of their 3 shots. They also knocked down 8 of 28 tries from distance. In regard to personal fouls, the Lions finished with 10 while Sarah Lawrence totaled 18 personal fouls.

Kenny Noland is someone who was a factor for this game. He finished the contest at 77.8% from the floor and earned 3 dimes. He played 23 mins and also totaled 3 boards. He totaled 17 points on 7 of 9 shooting.

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Columbia enters this game with a mark of 10-1 for the year. They are averaging 83.2 points per outing (44th in the country) while hitting 50.4% from the field. The Lions are shooting 37.0% on shots from 3-point land (102 of 276) and 74.1% from the charity stripe. As a team, Columbia is grabbing 38.1 boards per contest and is sitting with 219 assists so far this year, which is 29th in college hoops in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 11.8 times per game and as a group they are committing 14.7 personal fouls per contest.

On defense, the Lions are forcing 13.5 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.5 fouls. They concede 32.8% on shots from beyond the arc and they rank 68th in college in opponents PPG (66.6). The Lions defensively are allowing a field goal percentage of 40.8% (269 of 660) and they surrender 31.1 boards per contest as a group. They are ranked 233rd in college in giving up assists to the opposition with 169 surrendered for the year.

The last time they took the court, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights took a defeat with a final score of 83-82 when they played Princeton. The Scarlet Knights earned 24 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards for a total of 35 in the matchup. They coughed it up 12 times, while earning 8 steals in this matchup. Princeton had 20 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Scarlet Knights to the free throw line for 23 attempts. They were able to bury 18 of the free throws for a percentage of 78.3%. When discussing shots from downtown, Rutgers converted 6 of their 19 attempts (31.6%). When this game wrapped up, the Scarlet Knights finished shooting 29 for 63 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 46.0%. The Scarlet Knights permitted Princeton to convert 33 of 70 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 47.1% for the contest. They finished shooting 33.3% from distance via 9 of 27 and ended up shooting 8 of 18 from the charity stripe (44.4%). Regarding how they attacked the glass, Rutgers allowed Princeton to pull down 36 in total (14 on the offensive side).

Dylan Harper ended up being a major contributor for the Scarlet Knights for the matchup. He made 9 of 17 for the game giving him a rate of 52.9%, and had 5 rebounds. He racked up 22 points in his 36 minutes on the court and tallied 2 assists for this game.

Rutgers has a record of 7-5 so far this season. The Scarlet Knights are responsible for committing 16.4 fouls every game while shooting 71.6% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 13.4 times per game (232nd in Division 1) and they turn it over 11.3 times per game. Rutgers has scored 945 pts for the campaign (78.8 per game) and they grab 36.3 boards per game. As an offensive team, the Scarlet Knights are hitting on 46.2% from the field, which ranks them 134th in Division 1.

The Scarlet Knights on the defensive end are ranked 281st in Division 1 in PPG surrendered with 75.2. They are able to force 12.4 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 44.4% from the floor (253rd in D-1). The Rutgers defense surrenders 33.6% on shots from distance (95 of 283) and opponents are knocking down 65.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They surrender 13.3 dimes and 36.5 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks them 203rd and 283rd in those categories.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Rutgers

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