Murray State Racers vs Valparaiso Beacons Prediction, 12/21/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Murray State Racers vs Valparaiso Beacons

Date: Sunday, December 21, 2025

Location: Athletics-Recreation Center in Valparaiso, IN

TV: ESPN+

Athletics-Recreation Center is the location where the Valparaiso Beacons (6-5) will compete against the Murray State Racers (9-3) on Sunday.

The Murray State Racers took the court against Drake and notched a win by a score of 81-72 in their last contest. Murray State finished with a 40.4% field goal percentage (23 of 57) and knocked down 9 out of their 26 3-pointers. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Racers knocked down 26 of their 31 attempts for a rate of 83.9%. Pertaining to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 32 with 10 of them being offensive. They also doled out 10 assists for this contest while creating 11 turnovers and having 7 steals. In reference to the defense, Murray State allowed their opponent to shoot 44.8% from the floor on 26 of 58 shooting. Drake totaled 9 dimes and had 3 steals for the contest. Furthermore, Drake grabbed 28 rebounds (8 offensive, 20 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Drake finished the game at 73.9% when shooting free throws by converting 17 of 23 shots. They made 3 of their 16 tries from 3-point range. When discussing personal fouls, the Racers walked away with 20 while Drake totaled 21 personal fouls.

Fredrick King is a guy who was a major contributor in this contest. He went 46.2% from the floor and distributed 3 assists. He saw the court for 27 minutes and totaled 11 boards. He ended up with 16 points on 6 out of 13 shooting.

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Murray State heads into this one with a win-loss mark of 9-3 on the year. They are losing possession via turnover 12.3 times per contest and as a team are committing 19.1 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Murray State is snagging 38.8 rebounds per contest and has earned 194 assists on the year, which has them ranked 69th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Racers are hitting 37.8% on shots from 3-point land (133 of 352) and 75.1% from the charity stripe. They average 89.7 pts per game (22nd in college) while hitting 48.0% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Racers are able to force 12.2 turnovers per contest and they draw 20.6 fouls. They are conceding 31.8% on shots from beyond the arc and they are ranked 288th in college hoops in PPG allowed (78.0). The Racers defense is allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 44.7% (348 of 778) and they concede 34.6 rebounds per contest as a unit. They are 147th in college in giving up assists with 146 surrendered on the year.

When they last played, the Valparaiso Beacons took a loss by a score of 86-70 against Northwestern. With respect to rebounding, Valparaiso allowed Northwestern to get 31 in total (10 on the offensive side). They finished the game shooting 23.8% from distance by shooting 5 out of 21 and walked away from this one shooting 15 out of 22 from the free throw line (68.2%). The Beacons allowed Northwestern to bury 33 of 61 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 54.1% in the game. Overall, the Beacons finished 24 for 54 from the field which gave them a rate of 44.4%. Pertaining to three-point attempts, Valparaiso made 6 out of their 19 tries (31.6%). They were able to make 16 of those for a clip of 72.7%. Northwestern earned 15 fouls in this game which took the Beacons to the free throw line for a total of 22 attempts. They also coughed up the ball 13 times, while getting 6 steals in the game. The Beacons earned 17 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 27 in this matchup.

JT Pettigrew ended up being a major contributor for the Beacons in the game. He knocked down 3 of 8 for the matchup giving him a rate of 37.5%, and totaled 6 rebounds. He earned 13 points in his 28 mins on the court and had 3 assists in the game.

Valparaiso has a record of 6-5 for the year. As an offense, the Beacons are hitting on 41.2% from the field, which is ranked 335th in D-1. Valparaiso has accounted for 801 pts on the year (72.8 per contest) and they pull in 38.6 rebounds per contest. They are assisting teammates 12.5 times per contest (300th in college) and they lose possession via turnover 10.9 times per game. The Beacons are committing 17.7 personal fouls every game while shooting 69.9% from the free throw line.

The Valparaiso defense concedes 30.2% on shots from 3-point land (73 of 242) and opponents are converting on 73.1% of their free throw shots. They have allowed 11.1 dimes and 37.6 rebounds per game, which is 49th and 309th in the country. The Beacons on the defensive end are ranked 107th in college in points per game surrendered with 69.9. They are forcing 12.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 41.2% from the floor (85th in college).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Valparaiso

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