Western Carolina Catamounts vs Charleston Cougars Prediction, 12/18/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Western Carolina Catamounts vs Charleston Cougars

Date: Friday, December 18, 2020

Location: TD Arena in Charleston, SC

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Western Carolina (+3)

TD Arena is the venue where and the Charleston Cougars (2-3) will take on the Western Carolina Catamounts (6-2) on Friday. The line on this matchup has Charleston as 3-point favorites. The O/U is set at 148.5.

Western Carolina steps onto the court with a mark of 6-2 so far this year. They cough up possession 14.9 times per game and as a squad they commit 17.5 personal fouls every game. As a team, Western Carolina is collecting 37.3 rebounds per game and has earned 117 assists on the year, which has them ranked 26th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. The Catamounts are shooting 35.8% on shots from beyond the arc (76 of 212) and 72.8% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 85.0 points per outing (34th in college hoops) while going 47.4% from the field. On the defensive end, the Catamounts are able to force 13.9 turnovers per game and they draw 22.0 fouls. The Catamounts are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 44.1% (227 of 515) and they surrender 34.9 boards per game as a unit. They are ranked 308th in college hoops in allowing assists with 107 conceded so far this year. They are surrendering 37.2% on shots from distance and they are ranked 285th in D-1 in points per game allowed (78.9).

The Western Carolina Catamounts took the court against the VCU Rams and took a loss by a final of 93-68 in their last game. Western Carolina wrapped up the game with a 45.5% FG percentage (25 of 55) and made 8 of their 25 three-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Catamounts converted 10 of 11 attempts for a rate of 90.9%. In regard to grabbing rebounds, they collected 23 with 2 of them being offensive. They also dished out 14 assists in the matchup while getting 2 steals and 2 blocked shots. In relation to defense, Western Carolina allowed the other team to go 45.5% from the floor on 25 of 55. VCU earned 21 assists and 13 steals in the matchup. Furthurmore, the Rams grabbed 27 rebounds (4 offensive, 23 defensive) and had 2 blocks. VCU finished the contest at 90.0% when shooting free throws by knocking down 9 of 10 tries. They also made 10 of 24 attempts from beyond the perimeter.

Matt Halvorsen is one guy who played a lot for the game. He ended up finishing with 12 points on 2 out of 6 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 39 mins played and also totaled 2 rebounds. Halvorsen walked away from this one shooting 33.3% from the field and distributed 3 assists. An additional guy that was a factor in this contest for the Catamounts was Tyler Harris. He collected 6 rebounds and also accounted for 3 assists. He ended up shooting 62.5% from the field in this game by connecting on 5-of-8 (12 points). At the conclusion of this game, Harris was on the court for 37 min.

Charleston has a record of 2-3 on the season. The Cougars are responsible for committing 17.6 personal fouls per game and they hit 72.2% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 13.2 times per game (187th in the country) and they lose possession via turnover 11.6 times per contest. Charleston has earned 378 pts so far this season (75.6 per contest) and they average 37.8 boards per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Cougars are hitting on 44.9% from the floor, which ranks them 180th in college hoops. The Cougars on the defensive side of the court are 229th in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 73.2. They are forcing 12.0 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 43.6% from the floor (202nd in Division 1). The Charleston defense concedes 37.9% on three-point shots (47 of 124) and their opponents are connecting on 73.5% of their shots from the free throw line. They have allowed 13.8 dimes and 33.0 rebounds per game, which has them ranked 226th and 98th in Division 1.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Charleston Cougars got the victory with a final of 90-63 against the South Carolina State Bulldogs. The Cougars earned 31 defensive boards and 5 offensive rebounds for a total of 36 for the game. They also rejected 5 attempts while earning 6 steals in the game. The Bulldogs committed 21 fouls for the matchup which got the Cougars to the free throw line for a total of 26 shots. They were able to make 25 of the free throw tries for a clip of 96.2%. Pertaining to shooting from beyond the arc, Charleston buried 9 of 20 attempts (45.0%). Overall, the Cougars went 28 out of 53 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 52.8%. The Cougars allowed the Bulldogs to convert 20 of their 57 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 35.1% in this game. They wrapped up this game 28.0% from three-point range via 7 out of 25 and ended up going 16 out of 19 from the free throw line (84.2%). In regard to rebounding, Charleston permitted South Carolina State to get 21 in total (5 on the offensive glass).

Payton Willis was pivotal for the Cougars for this game. He knocked down 4 of 5 in this matchup for a field goal rate of 80.0%, which got him 11 points. Willis collected 3 rebounds in his 29 mins and accumulated 3 assists for the contest. One more player who was a determining factor for Charleston was Zep Jasper. He walked away with 12 points in 24 minutes on the court via 2 of 5 from the floor for the contest. Jasper ended the game having shot 40.0% from the floor and also earning 5 dimes and 6 boards.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Western Carolina (+3)

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