Bellarmine vs Liberty 12/29/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
Liberty Flames (9-4) vs. Bellarmine Knights (5-8)
December 29, 2022 6:30 pm EDT
The Line: Bellarmine Knights +7.5 / Liberty Flames -7.5;Over/Under: +128.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Liberty Flames and the Bellarmine Knights meet in college basketball action from the Freedom Hall on Thursday night.
The Liberty Flames will look to build on their 88-50 win over subdivision Mid-Atlantic last time out. Darius McGhee leads the Flames in scoring with 22.1 PPG while Brody Peebles has 11.8 PPG as the only other double-digit scorer for Liberty up to this point in the season. Kyle Rode has 8.2 PPG with a team-high 4.1 APG to lead the Flames in assists while Joseph Venzant has a team-high 5.5 RPG to lead the Flames on the glass this season. As a team, Liberty is averaging 76.6 PPG on 47.6% shooting from the field, 40.5% from three and 75.3% from the foul line this season.
The Bellarmine Knights will hope to bounce back from a 73-61 loss to Evansville in their last game. Garrett Tipton has 11.1 PPG to lead Bellarmine in scoring while Ben Johnson has 10.7 PPG as the only other double-digit scorer for Bellarmine up to this point in the year. Juston Betz has a team-high 4.5 RPG G to lead the Knights in rebounding and Peter Suder has a team-high 2.9 APG to lead the Knights in assists up to this point in the season. As a team, Bellarmine is averaging 68 PPG on 46% shooting from the field, 38.5% from three and 74.4% from the foul line this season.
Liberty is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall and 1-6 ATS in their last 7 road games while the over is 3-0-1 in their last 4 games against a team with a winning percentage below .400. Bellarmine is 0-4 ATS in their last 4 home games against a team with a road winning percentage below .400 and 8-1 ATS in their last 9 games against a team with a winning record while the over is 6-0 in their last 6 home games against a team with a losing road record.
I get the case to be made for a home underdog like the Knights here, but I just feel like Liberty is the better team here and a Liberty squad that at one point was defense first has found some solid offensive chops all of a sudden. The Flames are going to have the best player on the floor in McGhee and I think his supporting cast helps guide Liberty to a win and cover here.
