Northern Iowa Sparks Goal Efficiency Over Percent Field Goal Efficiency

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

Despite playing the majority of the season without leading scorer and rebounder Trevor Mbakwe (14.0 ppg, 9.1 rpg), Minnesota is holding its own in the ultra-competitive Big Ten. The Gophers are averaging 70.2 ppg on typical shooting outputs of 48.1 percent overall and better than 70 percent from the foul line. They are also outworking the opposition on the glass (+3.7) while goading the same into more than 14 turnovers per outing. Rodney Williams (10.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg) and Julian Welch (10.6 ppg, 2.6 apg) are the only two active double-digit scorers for coach Tubby Smith's club, but there are six guys who average at least 6.0 ppg. Defensively, UM allows an average of 62.8 ppg, with foes shooting just 41.0 percent from the field. All five starters scored in double figures, led by freshman Joe Coleman's 16-point effort, as Minnesota blew the doors off Northwestern the last time out, winning by 23. Welch finished with a line of 14 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Gophers, who shot a sizzling 57.7 percent from the floor, despite missing nine of their 12 three-point attempts. The Wildcats were limited to 32.7 percent field goal efficiency, and they lost the battle on the boards by a 40-28 margin.

 

Starkville, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - SEC foes square off in Starkville tonight, as the LSU Tigers come calling on the 18th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs. LSU is currently five games over .500 on the year (12-7), but the Tigers have lost three of their five league bouts, the most recent of which occurred this past Saturday at nationally-ranked Florida, 76-64. This game is the second of three in a row LSU will play against Top-25 competition, as next up for the Tigers is this Saturday's home clash with No. 1 Kentucky.

 

LSU's strength lies in its ability to play shutdown defense, as it is yielding just 61.5 ppg this season on typical shooting outputs of 40.0 percent overall and 31.1 percent from three-point range. Additionally, the Tigers own favorable margins in both rebounding (+2.1) and turnovers (+2.9). At the other end of the court, LSU is being paced by a pair of double-digit scorers in Justin Hamilton (14.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 29 blocks) and Andre Stringer (10.4 ppg), with the former also serving as the team's leading rebounder and shot blocker while shooting a stellar 51.8 percent from the field. Stringer has struggled with his shot (.364), as have most of his teammates, the club currently hitting only 40.6 percent of its field goal attempts overall. Hamilton poured in a career-high 27 points, 18 of which he tallied in the second half, but that effort went to waste as LSU dropped a 12-point decision at Florida over the weekend. It was the fourth time in the last six games that Hamilton scored at least 20 points, and he was joined in double figures by Anthony Hickey (10 points). LSU watched almost helplessly as the Gators connected on 56.3 percent of their total shots, and outscored the Tigers at the foul line, 15-3.

 

Lubbock, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Still in search of their first Big 12 Conference win of the season, the Texas Tech Red Raiders give it another go tonight, although accomplishing the feat won't be easy as the 22nd-ranked Kansas State Wildcats are the opponent. Kansas State opened the year an impressive 11-1, but the start of Big 12 play didn't go quite the way head coach Frank Martin had hoped as the his team dropped three of its first four league bouts. The Wildcats have bounced back however, winning each of their last two, the most recent of which being a 66-58 decision at Oklahoma State on Saturday. The win snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Cowboys in Stillwater, and improved K-State to 14-4 overall, 3-3 in conference and 2-2 in true road games.

 

Texas Tech head coach Billy Gillispie had high hopes for his first year in Lubbock, but things haven't gone according to plan as his team is just 7-11 overall and has lost its first six Big 12 bouts -- the first time that has happened since the 1999-2000 campaign. The Red Raiders, who are 6-3 at home this season, haven't tasted victory since winning back-to-back games against Cal State Bakersfield and Southeastern Louisiana to close out the 2011 calendar year.

 

Robert Lewandowski scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds, but he was the only Red Raider to reach double figures in what turned out to be a 76-52 loss to visiting Iowa State over the weekend. Texas Tech made good on only 35.1 percent of its total shots, missing 13-of-18 three-point tries along the way, and the team was guilty of 15 turnovers while also losing the rebounding battle, 40-32. The Cyclones controlled the paint to the tune of a 34-16 advantage, while they scored three times as many points off giveaways as did the Red Raiders (21-7). Offensive production has been the primary problem for Texas Tech this season, as the team is averaging just 63.3 ppg despite hitting 45 percent of its field goal attempts, and 36.8 percent of its long-range bombs. Defensively, Tech hasn't been all that bad, as foes are putting up 67.2 ppg behind shooting percentages that are worse than what it turns in (.409 overall, .322 three-point FG). Turnovers have plagued the Red Raiders, as they are guilty of 17 miscues per outing compared to 12.5 tpg for the opposition. Jordan Tolbert (12.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg) is the only player currently averaging double digits in the scoring column for Texas Tech, and he is the team's leading rebounder as well.

 

Boise, ID (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Off to their best start in two decades, the 12th- ranked UNLV Runnin' Rebels take their act on the road tonight as they challenge the latest addition to the Mountain West Conference, the Boise State Broncos, at Taco Bell Arena. Sure, there have been a few bumps in the road for the Runnin' Rebels this season, such as the 89-70 blowout loss to Wichita State the first week of December, but can anyone really blame them for bowing to Wisconsin and San Diego State, both of which were nationally ranked at the time? Since that 69-67 setback to the Aztecs on the road on January 14, UNLV has bounced back with convincing league victories, the most recent of those being an 80-63 domination of New Mexico at home over the weekend.

 

As for the Broncos, this is their first season as members of the MWC, coming over from the Western Athletic Conference where they experienced their own share of success. Unfortunately, the transition has not gone all that well in the early going with BSU dropping the first three league bouts on the schedule, which means the Broncos are all alone at the bottom of the MWC standings.

 

Mike Moser registered yet another double-double, putting up 14 points and bringing down 10 rebounds as the Rebels took care of New Mexico in the desert over the weekend. A couple of surprising contributors to the victory came off the bench as Carlos Lopez and Justin Hawkins chipped in 14 and 10 points, respectively, the former doing his damage in a mere 14 minutes. Anthony Marshall, responsible for 13 points and nine assists, added four steals as UNLV forced 21 turnovers in the meeting to keep the Lobos off balance. As a key addition to the UNLV program, Moser has been a beast in the paint with his 14.0 ppg and 11.3 rpg, capturing more than three offensive rebounds per outing in order to spearhead an effort that has the group generating 13 offensive boards per contest. One of the top scoring teams in the country, the Rebels are not just putting up 81.5 ppg, they are also limiting foes to 65.6 ppg.

 

Boise State hit a major lull in the second half against TCU, held without a field goal for more than 11 minutes, which is why the visitors coughed up a big lead and potentially their first win on the road. Derrick Marks was responsible for 13 points and eight rebounds to pace the Broncos in both categories, but he also logged six turnovers without benefit of a single assist. Thomas Bropleh chipped in 10 points off the bench, but not only did the Broncos lose a huge lead in the meeting with TCU, they might have lost guard Jeff Elorriaga for the remainder of the campaign after he fractured his thumb. Without Elorriaga in the lineup it means the Broncos will have to fill in for his 6.7 ppg which, while it is not all that overwhelming, it is still never easy to plug in a substitute this late in the season. But whatever happens with finding a replacement for Elorriaga, the Broncos must get more production out of Anthony Drmic who is the only double-digit scorer on the roster with his 13.1 ppg.

 

Sophomore forward Doug McDermott ranks third nationally in scoring (23.2 ppg) and leads the MVC in scoring, rebounding, three-point percentage, and double- doubles. Antoine Young is second on the team in scoring (11.9 ppg). Young is due for a scoring outburst after being held under 10 points in each of his last two outings. Gregory Echenique is a physical center that averages 9.2 points, 7.1 boards, and 1.7 blocks per game. Grant Gibbs is the second best passer in the MVC with an average of 5.7 apg.

comments

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•    bed. can't remember the last time I felt this homesick 🏠😢😭

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•    I think it is. Bulls are actually below league average in effective field goal percentage but their offensive efficiency is top 10.

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•    Gonna overdose on bacon, might be the last time I eat it for a while T-T !

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•    The moment yu start to forget is the moment ur life truly begins. #:) ~best-memories~

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•    My goal for this last semester is to do as little work as possible while maximizing my grades . #BusinessMajor #Efficiency

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•    35 ppg :)

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•    Herb Pope has three points on fourteen field goal attempts tonight. That's not very good.

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•    Melquan Bolding leads four double-digit scorers for FDU with 15 points. #NEC

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•    Two down, two to go. After shooting games at Northern Iowa and Drake, it's off to Carver Hawkeye tomorrow. One week, four gyms, four teams

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•    I woud wlk to Penn State Rite Now To See My Boo Damah ;)

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•    $20 just to drive thru your state. Not even to philly. #penn

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•    #Liverpool are actually shit! How many attempts and 1 goal? 😄 deserve to lose for having poor strikers! Need penalties to bag! #carlingcup

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