Belmont vs Murray State Prediction & Expert Betting Advice
Sportsmemo college basketball analyst Kyle Kargel gives his Belmont vs Murray State college basketball prediction with two of the top Missouri Valley Conference teams going at it.
This crucial conference bout tips off at 9:00pm ET from the Curb Event Center Arena in Nashville, TN.
Both teams average 71+ points per game and have double digit wins so far this season.
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Belmont vs Murray State Prediction : The Betting Odds
Tuesday, January 17 | Mountain West Conference Betting Notes |
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Point Spread: | Belmont Bruins -6.5 vs Murray State Racers |
Total: | 144 Points |
Game Time: | 9:00pm ET / 6:00pm PT |
Arena: | Curb Event Center Arena in Nashville, TN (Odds Above by DraftKings) |
TV: | CBS Sports Network |
Belmont vs Murray State Prediction : Betting Analysis
Missouri Valley Conference play has gotten off to an exciting start with eight different teams sitting either 6-2 or 5-3 in conference play including Belmont and Murray State.
These two are set to play tonight with the Bruins riding four straight conference wins. The Racers on the other hand are only 2-2 in their last four but still sit 10-8 overall.
Belmont is 10-8 against the spread while the Racers are only 6-10-1. The Bruins are favored by seven points to beat Murray State at home tonight with the total sitting at 144.
Belmont Banks on 3-Point Shot
Belmont has relied on their offensive efficiency to pick up most of their wins this season. They started 1-3 then went on to win 12 of their next 15 games heading into their game tonight.
The Bruins are 85th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency, 21st in effective field goal percentage and 4th in 3pt shooting percentage. The 3pt shot makes up 40.9% of Belmont’s points each game which is 7th most in the nation as well.
This deep shooting charge is led by senior Drew Friberg who averages 12.7 ppg while averaging 47% from 3pt range. Leading scorer Ben Sheppard averages 18 ppg while shooting 42% from deep, and leads the team in assists and rebounds per game as well.
To give you a better idea of how much this team loves shooting 3-pointers, in their 76-72 win against Northern Iowa 31 of their 53 shot attempts were 3-pointers hitting 14 of them in total.
Defense is this team’s weakness ranking 200th or worse in adjusted defensive efficiency, effective field goal percentage, as well as two and three point field goal percentage allowed.
Murray State’s offense isn’t the best but Belmont’s tendencies to slack on the defensive end is something the Racers can take advantage of.
Jacobi Wood Jolting Racers
That effort for Murray State must be fueled by junior Rob Perry averaging 14.9 ppg but he’s only averaged 10.2 ppg in his last five games.
Jacobi Wood has stepped in where needed filling up the stat sheet averaging 12.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game while also adding 1.4 steals per game on the defensive end.
This Murray State team does have the ability to hold off Belmont from behind the long line ranking 56th in 3pt field goal percentage allowed.
They do allow their opponent to shoot a ton of 3pt shots however which Belmont will do, even if they’re missing out of the gate. In their 81-64 win over UIC the Racers allowed the Flames to shoot 31 3-pointers.
One thing that stands out about Murray State is that they don’t utilize their bench. Only seven players average 16 minutes or more played per game.
Belmont vs Murray State Prediction : Take That Free Betting Pick!
The spread is getting to a point where I don’t want to touch it based on this being a conference matchup between two schools who should compete at the top of it come the end of the regular season. For this reason, with both teams averaging over 70 ppg, I’m going with over 144 for this matchup.
Murray State will look to continue their offensive success from their last game with Belmont scoring between 74-77 points in their last four games. I’m looking at a score around 80-75 with Belmont picking up their fifth straight win.
Prediction: Over 144 Points Scored
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