East Carolina Pirates vs SMU Mustangs Prediction, 2/19/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: East Carolina Pirates vs SMU Mustangs

Date: Sunday, February 19, 2023

Location: Moody Coliseum in University Park, TX

TV: ESPN+

The SMU Mustangs (9-18) host the East Carolina Pirates (13-12) at Moody Coliseum on Sunday.

The East Carolina Pirates took the court against Cincinnati and went home with a win by a final score of 75-71 in their last contest. East Carolina finished having earned a 43.1% field goal percentage (28 of 65) and buried 6 of 20 shots from beyond the arc. At the charity stripe, the Pirates converted 13 of 22 attempts for a rate of 59.1%. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 37 with 13 of them being offensive. They also doled out 12 assists in the matchup as well as forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and having 4 steals. In regard to the defense, East Carolina allowed the other team to shoot 46.6% from the field on 27 out of 58 shooting. Cincinnati earned 10 dimes and had 3 steals in this matchup. In addition, Cincinnati pulled down 27 boards (4 offensive, 23 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Cincinnati ended up shooting 76.9% from the free throw line by knocking down 10 of 13 attempts. They buried 7 out of their 21 attempts from long range. Concerning fouls, the Pirates ended up with 13 while Cincinnati accumulated 15 fouls.

Brandon Johnson is one guy who was a major factor in this matchup. He racked up 16 points on 6 out of 11 shooting. He saw the court for 33 mins and collected 6 rebounds. He finished 54.5% from the floor but wasn't able to get an assist.

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East Carolina steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss mark of 13-12 so far this year. They are turning it over 13.0 times per game and as a team are committing 17.8 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, East Carolina is pulling in 37.4 boards per game and has accumulated 333 dimes for the year, which is 241st in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Pirates are shooting 31.6% on shots from distance (193 of 610) and 69.2% from the charity stripe. They average 69.8 pts per contest (225th in college hoops) while hitting 40.9% from the field.

On defense, the Pirates are able to force 12.0 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 18.0 fouls. They are giving up 34.0% on shots from downtown while they are 192nd in D-1 in PPG allowed (70.2). The Pirates defensively are allowing a field goal percentage of 43.8% (627 of 1,432) and they surrender 33.8 rebounds per contest as a group. They currently rank 102nd in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 307 surrendered for the campaign.

In their last game, the SMU Mustangs walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 80-65 against Houston. The Mustangs were able to corral 20 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards totaling 26 for this contest. They coughed it up 11 times, while getting 6 steals for the matchup. Houston committed 17 fouls in this matchup which got the Mustangs to the charity stripe for 24 attempts. They were able to bury 14 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 58.3%. In the matter of three-point shots, SMU knocked down 5 of their 15 tries (33.3%). When the final whistle blew, the Mustangs shot 23 out of 52 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 44.2%. The Mustangs permitted Houston to knock down 27 out of their 55 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 49.1% in this contest. They went 33.3% from three-point range by going 10 out of 30 and walked away from this one shooting 16 out of 26 at the free throw line (61.5%). In relation to cleaning up the glass, SMU allowed Houston to grab 36 overall (9 on the offensive side).

Zhuric Phelps ended up having an impact for the Mustangs in this matchup. He tallied 22 points in his 37 minutes on the court and accounted for 5 dimes in this contest. He made 7 out of 17 in the matchup for a rate of 41.2%, and accounted for 6 rebounds.

SMU has a record of 9-18 on the year. As an offensive team, the Mustangs are shooting 42.1% from the field, which ranks 305th in college hoops. SMU has accounted for 1,889 pts on the year (70.0 per contest) and they grab 35.1 rebounds per game. They are getting an assist 13.7 times per contest (151st in college basketball) and they turn it over 12.8 times per game. The Mustangs are committing 17.4 fouls per contest and they go 66.5% from the free throw line.

The SMU defense surrenders 33.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter (202 of 603) and their opponents are making 71.5% of their foul shots. They have relinquished 15.2 dimes and 38.4 boards every game, which ranks 339th and 352nd in the country. The Mustangs on the defensive side of the court are 311th in college basketball in points given up per game with 74.9. They are forcing 13.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 44.5% from the field (247th in college hoops).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take SMU

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