Murray State Racers (3-8) vs SMU Mustangs (8-4)
2023-12-22 18:00:00 EDT
The Line: Betting Odds: Murray State Racers +5.5 -- Over/Under: 137.5
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The SMU Mustangs and the Murray State Racers meet in college basketball action from the CFSB Center on Friday evening. Can SMU add to Murray State’s misery? Or will the Racers finally snap their five-game losing streak? Let’s dive in and get an SMU vs. Murray State Prediction.
SMU Team Preview
The SMU Mustangs come into this one looking to build on an 89-53 win over Houston Christian last time out. Zhuric Phelps leads the Mustangs in scoring with 15.2 PPG with 4.6 RPG and 2.4 APG while Chuck Harris has 13.8 PPG as the only other double-digit scorer for SMU up to this point in the year. Tyreek Smith and Samuell Williamson share SMU’s lead in rebounding with 6.1 RPG while B.J. Edwards has a team-high 3.9 APG to lead SMU in the assist department this season. As a team, SMU is averaging 75.1 PPG on 45.7% shooting from the field, 34.1% from three and 67% from the foul line this season.
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Murray State Team Preview
The Murray State Racers come into this game looking to snap a five-game losing skid after an 80-66 loss to Little Rock last time out. Rob Perry leads the Racers in scoring with 15 PPG along with 4.7 RPG while JaCobi Wood has 12.3 PPG with 3.9 RPG and a team-high 4.6 APG to lead the Racers in assists this season. Nick Ellington has 10.4 PPG with a team-high 6.9 RPG to lead the Racers on the glass while Brian Moore Jr. has 11.8 PPG with 2.5 APG as well to round out the scoring in double figures for Murray State as well this season. As a team, Murray State is averaging 71.8 PPG on 43.8% shooting from the field, 32.3% from three and 70.1% from the foul line this season.
SMU vs. Murray State Prediction
I’m on the Mustangs here. These two teams are fairly even from an offensive efficiency standpoint, but the defense numbers couldn’t be more different. SMU is top-15 in 3-point and 2-point defense and top-35 in effective field goal percentage defense while Murray State’s outside of the top-300 in a lot of defensive metrics. Give me SMU here.
