SMU Mustangs vs East Carolina Pirates Prediction, 2/4/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: SMU Mustangs vs East Carolina Pirates

Date: Saturday, February 4, 2023

Location: Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum in Greenville, NC

TV: fuboTV

Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum is the location where the East Carolina Pirates (11-12) will try to beat the SMU Mustangs (8-15) on Saturday.

The SMU Mustangs faced off with Tulane and took a loss by a score of 74-52 in their last game. SMU finished having earned a 34.6% FG percentage (18 of 52) and made 8 of 24 three-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Mustangs buried 8 of 18 tries for a rate of 44.4%. In reference to grabbing boards, they collected a total of 32 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 13 assists in this matchup while forcing the other team into 13 turnovers and having 8 steals. In terms of defense, SMU allowed the other team to go 44.2% from the field on 23 of 52 shooting. Tulane recorded 14 assists and had 16 steals in this matchup. Moreover, Tulane had 30 rebounds (6 offensive, 24 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Tulane finished the game at 79.3% at the charity stripe by knocking down 23 of their 29 shots. They converted 5 of their 18 attempts from distance. In regard to fouls, the Mustangs ended up with 19 and Tulane recorded 18 fouls.

Zach Nutall is a guy who was a major factor for this game. He walked away from this one shooting 57.1% from the field and also distributed 1 assist. He was on the hardwood for 32 minutes and collected 4 rebounds. He walked away with 23 points on 8 of 14 shooting.

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SMU will play this game with a record of 8-15 for the campaign. They average 69.2 pts per game (243rd in Division 1) while hitting 41.7% from the field. The Mustangs are shooting 31.2% on 3-pointers (151 of 484) and 67.6% from the charity stripe. As a team, SMU is collecting 35.6 boards per game and has tallied 308 assists so far this season, which has them ranked 146th in the country in terms of passing. They cough up possession 13.1 times per game and as a team are committing 17.3 fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Mustangs are forcing 12.9 turnovers per game while drawing 17.2 fouls. They give up 33.1% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 304th in college basketball in points per game allowed (74.1). The Mustangs defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 43.8% (613 of 1,400) and they surrender 38.3 boards per game as a squad. They are ranked 331st in college hoops in giving up assists with 340 surrendered for the year.

When they last stepped on the court, the East Carolina Pirates took a loss by a final score of 71-63 when they played South Florida. In relation to cleaning up the glass, East Carolina allowed South Florida to pull down 32 in total (8 on the offensive side). They finished 43.5% from beyond the arc by shooting 10 out of 23 and walked away from this one shooting 9 out of 12 from the free throw line (75.0%). The Pirates permitted South Florida to convert 26 of their 54 attempts from the floor which had them at 48.1% in this matchup. In all, the Pirates went 21 for 55 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 38.2%. When talking about shots from distance, East Carolina buried 4 out of 17 tries (23.5%). They were able to make 17 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 81.0%. South Florida had 17 fouls for the game which took the Pirates to the free throw line for a total of 21 shots. They also coughed up the ball 16 times, while recording 9 steals in the matchup. The Pirates were able to collect 19 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 28 for the matchup.

RJ Felton ended up being a factor for the Pirates for this contest. He made 6 out of 15 for this contest for a field goal rate of 40.0%, and earned 3 rebounds. He recorded 18 points in his 34 minutes on the hardwood, but wasn't able to get an assist.

East Carolina has a record of 11-12 on the season. The Pirates commit 18.2 personal fouls per game and they hit 69.1% from the free throw line. Their rate of earning assists is at 13.3 times per contest (187th in college basketball) and they are turning it over 13.2 times per contest. East Carolina has accumulated 1,592 pts this year (69.2 per game) and they grab 37.0 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Pirates are hitting on 40.7% from the field, which is 337th in the country.

The East Carolina defense allows 34.0% on shots from behind the 3-point line (153 of 450) and opponents are connecting on 70.3% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have given up 12.4 assists and 34.0 rebounds every game, which ranks them 163rd and 178th in D-1. The Pirates on the defensive end are ranked 197th in D-1 in PPG given up with 70.0. They have forced 12.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 43.8% from the floor (211th in the nation).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take East Carolina

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