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<p>Don't miss out on the NCAA showdown between the Vikings and Beacons. The game is starting at 8:00 ET on ESPN+, and it's hosted by the Beacons at Athletics-Recreation Center in Valparaiso, IN. Get ready to place your bets! The odds for this non-conference game currently have Valparaiso as the -1.5 favorite, with the over/under line sitting at 148.5 points.</p><h3>CLEVELAND STATE VIKINGS VS VALPARAISO BEACONS BETTING PICK</h3><p>The Pick: Valparaiso Beacons -1.5</p><p>This game will be played at Athletics-Recreation Center at 8:00 ET on Tuesday, November 12th.</p><h3>WHY BET THE VALPARAISO BEACONS:</h3><ul><li>We have this one finishing with a projected score of 77-69 in favor of the Beacons.</li><li>Not only will Valparaiso pick up the win, but look for them to cover at -1.5.</li><li>The over/under is currently sitting at 148.5 points, and we like the under with a projected 146 points.</li></ul><h3>Can Cleveland State Secure a Road Victory?</h3><h3>Cleveland State Vikings Recent Game</h3> 

<p>The Vikings dropped their season opener 77-64 to Kansas State on Saturday. Despite being +23 point underdogs, Cleveland State kept it closer than expected.</p> 

<p>After trailing 36-24 at halftime, the Vikings put up 40 points in the 2nd half, but Kansas State scored 41 to maintain their lead. The game’s total points of 141 fell short of the 148 O/U line.</p><p>Cleveland State struggled offensively in their last game, shooting just 38.3% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. Their effective field goal percentage was 43.3%, and they managed to score 64 points.</p> <p>Brendan Hausen was a bright spot, hitting 6 of 9 threes and finishing with 22 points. David N'Guessan was perfect from the field, going 6 for 6, while Coleman Hawkins added 12 points and 5 assists.</p><p>Despite Cleveland State's defensive struggles, they still managed to put up 77 points in their previous game. The Vikings shot 51% from the field, hitting 30 of their 51 attempts. Inside the arc, they made 19 of 30 shots, good for 63%.</p> <p>From three-point range, Cleveland State connected on 11 of 21 attempts, shooting 52%. They also went to the free-throw line 29 times, making 17 of those shots, which is 58%. On the offensive glass, they gave up 7 rebounds.</p><h3>Will Valparaiso Live Up to Expectations at Home?</h3><h3>Valparaiso Beacons Recent Game/Games</h3> 

<p>Valparaiso dropped their season opener on Monday, falling 83-63 to Liberty on the road. Entering the game as +10.5 point underdogs, the Beacons not only lost but also failed to cover the spread.</p> 

<p>After trailing 42-32 at halftime, Valparaiso couldn’t close the gap, scoring 31 points in the 2nd half while allowing 41. The game’s total points of 146 exceeded the O/U line of 139.</p><p>Valparaiso's offense struggled in their last game, shooting just 34.9% from the field and 13.3% from three-point range, hitting only 2 of 15 attempts. Their effective field goal percentage was 36.5%, but they did manage to convert 81% of their free throws, going 17 for 21.</p> <p>Offensively, they recorded just 7 assists, with Zach Cleveland contributing 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Tyler Schmidt and Owen Aquino both shot over 87%, with Schmidt hitting 7 of 8 shots and Aquino going 8 for 9, adding 11 rebounds.</p><p>Valparaiso's defense struggled in their last game, giving up 83 points on 53% shooting from the field. The Beacons allowed their opponent to hit 61% of their two-point attempts, going 22/36 inside the arc.</p> <p>From three-point range, Valparaiso's opponent shot 41%, connecting on 10 of 24 attempts. The Beacons also sent them to the free-throw line 13 times, where they made 9 free throws (69%). Valparaiso limited second chances, giving up just 5 offensive rebounds.</p>

Cleveland State Vikings vs Valparaiso Beacons NCAA Basketball Betting Pick & Prediction 11/12/24

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Belmont’s unbeaten record in OVC play went down in flames last night, but the game did not go over the total and that was our main focus. Alas, we are down to 2-2 for the week, but a quick note to fade Belmont on Saturday now that their game doesn’t matter in advance of the OVC Tournament.

Anyway, we’ll get back at it tonight with a good betting board for February 26. Our travels this evening take us to Orem, Utah, where the Utah Valley Wolverines take on the Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros. Utah Valley is -3 at <a href="http://bangthebook.com/sportsbooks/bookmaker"><strong>Bookmaker</strong> </a>with a total of 143.5. This one was -2.5 across a few books at time of writing, but with the line showing signs of going to -3, it only seemed fair to list it at that.
<h3><strong><u>UTRGV Vaqueros</u></strong></h3>
This will be UT Rio Grande Valley’s first game against a Division I opponent since February 6. It has been a tough month for the Vaqueros and it has nothing to do with wins and losses. Well, a loss, just not one in a game. Head coach Lew Hill died in his sleep just hours after coaching the Vaqueros in their game against Texas Southern. It was said that Hill was going to excuse himself for health reasons after coaching that game.

Hill had battled COVID, but had also recently been diagnosed with a bone marrow disorder called amyloid light-chain amyloidosis, an affliction that affects about 4,500 new individuals each year. The news was obviously shocking to the Vaqueros players, who knew that Hill was stepping aside, but had no idea it would end like this.

Jai Steadman is the interim head coach for UTRGV now after serving as an assistant coach for 8.5 years. The Vaqueros responded nicely in their win over Dallas Christian by a 116-51 score on February 21, but that was just their second game in over a month after a COVID pause.

The Vaqueros are a really stout defensive team, at least on the perimeter. Opponents are only shooting 26.7% from three-point range. They are 48th in eFG%, though they’ve played one of the five worst schedules in college basketball this season. Their TO% against that bad slate of teams is 25.7%, good for fourth in the nation.

The problem for the Vaqueros is that they can’t score. They rank 338th in eFG% offense. They are 340th in 3P% at 28.4% and 323rd in 2P% percentage at 44.4%. Though they hung a big number against Dallas Christian in that emotional game, I wouldn’t read too much into it.
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<h3><strong><u>Utah</u></strong><strong><u> Valley</u></strong><strong><u> Wolverines</u></strong></h3>
I’ll beat this drum pretty hard, but I think Utah Valley is the sleeper team in the WAC Tournament to go up against Grand Canyon. The Wolverines get to the rim a lot and take a lot of high-percentage shots. Mark Madsen’s team split with New Mexico State last weekend, winning the first game and then coming up short in the second game because the Aggies made adjustments.

In the first game, Utah Valley was 14-of-16 at the rim and had seven dunks. They were 9-of-19 on mid-range jumpers. In the second game, Utah Valley only had two dunks, just 12 attempts at the rim, and was forced into 28 mid-range attempts. They only made 10. It was a good, strong adjustment from Chris Jans and the Aggies that really hurt Utah Valley’s ability to score.

For the most part, the Wolverines haven’t had that problem. According to Haslametrics, Utah Valley has the fourth-best Proximity, which is a stat that details how close or how far shoots usually come from a team. Only Stephen F. Austin, Buffalo, and Stanford get inside and shoot close to the rim at a higher rate.

The Wolverines aren’t a bad defensive team. They don’t force many turnovers, but opponents are only shooting 47.3% on two-point shots. That will be a problem for UTRGV, who is awful from three and only takes a three-pointer about 36% of the time.
<h3><strong><u>Pick &amp; Analysis</u></strong></h3>
I like Utah Valley in this game and also like the Wolverines tomorrow in the elevation of Orem. UTRGV hasn’t played consecutive games since beating Dixie State twice at home in mid-January. This is actually just the second road game since December 10 because of the schedule and COVID pauses. Orem is over 4,700 feet in elevation.

Utah Valley gets to the rim a lot and a shorter Vaqueros team is unlikely to provide much resistance. We could see some Vaquero money buy back the line because we’ve seen some big moves when there are TO% discrepancies, but I’m content with this one at -2.5, -3, or even a little bit higher.
<h4><strong>Pick: Utah Valley -3</strong></h4>
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UTRGV at Utah Valley College Basketball Free Pick, Prediction, and Preview 2/26/21

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