Tulsa Golden Hurricane vs UAB Blazers Prediction, 1/4/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tulsa Golden Hurricane vs UAB Blazers

Date: Saturday, January 4, 2025

Location: Bartow Arena in Birmingham, AL

TV: ESPN+

Bartow Arena is the location where the UAB Blazers (7-7) will play the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (6-8) on Saturday.

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane stepped onto the hardwood against Rice and took a loss by a score of 70-64 in their last contest. Concerning personal fouls, the Golden Hurricane left the arena with 20 while Rice accounted for 18 personal fouls. They buried 6 of their 20 shots from distance. Rice ended up shooting 50.0% at the charity stripe by converting 10 of their 20 shots. Additionally, Rice grabbed 36 boards (9 offensive, 27 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Rice doled out 10 assists and had 4 steals in the matchup. With regard to defense, Tulsa let their opponent shoot 46.6% from the floor on 27 out of 58 shooting. They also dished out 9 assists in the matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and getting 3 steals. Regarding pulling down boards, they collected 34 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. From the charity stripe, the Golden Hurricane made 15 of 17 shots for a percentage of 88.2%. Tulsa wrapped up the contest with a 35.6% FG percentage (21 out of 59) and buried 7 of their 28 shots from beyond the arc.

Dwon Odom is a guy who came through for this contest. He finished shooting 46.2% from the field and also totaled 3 dimes. He was on the court for 34 minutes and grabbed 4 boards. He ended up with 18 points on 6 of 13 shooting.

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Tulsa steps onto the hardwood with a record of 6-8 on the year. They turn the ball over 11.6 times per game and as a unit they commit 16.4 fouls per game. As a team, Tulsa is collecting 39.1 rebounds per game and is sitting with 196 assists for the campaign, which is 155th in the country in terms of passing. The Golden Hurricane are connecting on 31.8% on shots from distance (128 of 402) and 67.8% from the free throw line. They average 76.4 points per contest (162nd in the country) while connecting on 42.2% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Golden Hurricane are forcing 11.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.4 personal fouls. They are 161st in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 169 relinquished on the campaign. The Golden Hurricane defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 43.7% (378 of 865) and they relinquish 37.9 boards per contest as a unit. They concede 33.9% on 3-pointers and they are 247th in the country in PPG allowed (73.4).

In their last game, the UAB Blazers took a loss by a final score of 78-75 when they faced North Texas. In regard to rebounding, UAB allowed North Texas to get 22 in total (7 on the offensive glass). They finished 42.9% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 9 of 21 and finished the game at 25 out of 26 from the free throw line (96.2%). The Blazers permitted North Texas to make 22 out of 50 tries from the field which had them shooting 44.0% for the matchup. When all was said and done, the Blazers walked away from this one shooting 23 out of 56 from the floor which gave them a rate of 41.1%. In reference to shooting from distance, UAB buried 10 of 18 tries (55.6%). They were able to knock down 19 of the free throws for a percentage of 90.5%. North Texas committed 16 fouls in the matchup which got the Blazers to the charity stripe for a total of 21 tries. They also gave up possession of the ball 12 times, while getting 4 steals in the matchup. The Blazers were able to snag 19 defensive boards and 13 offensive boards totaling 32 in the matchup.

Alejandro Vasquez was important for the Blazers for this game. He converted 4 of 9 for the contest for a rate of 44.4%, and had 3 rebounds. He earned 15 points in his 26 minutes on the court and accumulated 3 assists for the contest.

UAB has a win-loss mark of 7-7 for the season. When it comes to offensive execution, the Blazers are connecting on 46.7% from the floor, which ranks them 111th in the nation. UAB has earned 1,193 points for the year (85.2 per game) and they pull down 41.3 rebounds per contest. They are earning an assist 16.1 times per contest (82nd in D-1) and they turn the ball over 11.3 times per contest. The Blazers are committing 16.5 fouls per contest and they shoot 75.9% from the charity stripe.

The UAB defense allows 34.4% from downtown (110 of 320) and their opponents are knocking down 79.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They have conceded 12.6 dimes and 33.9 boards every game, which ranks them 145th and 157th in those categories. The Blazers on the defensive side of the court are 308th in college in points given up per game with 76.6. They are forcing their opponents into 12.3 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 43.0% from the floor (184th in college).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UAB

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