South Carolina Gamecocks vs East Carolina Pirates Prediction, 12/9/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: South Carolina Gamecocks vs East Carolina Pirates

Date: Saturday, December 9, 2023

Location: Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum in Greenville, NC

TV: ESPN

The South Carolina Gamecocks (7-1) are hitting the road to Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum on Saturday where they will take on the East Carolina Pirates (6-3).

The South Carolina Gamecocks stepped onto the hardwood against Clemson and took a loss by a score of 72-67 in their last game. When talking about personal fouls, the Gamecocks ended up with 15 while Clemson accumulated 16 personal fouls. They knocked down 8 out of their 18 tries from 3-point land. Clemson finished the game at 70.0% from the charity stripe by making 14 of 20 tries. Moreover, Clemson collected 39 rebounds (7 offensive, 32 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Clemson recorded 13 dimes and had 5 steals in the game. In regard to the defense, South Carolina allowed 44.6% from the field on 25 of 56 shooting. They also doled out 13 assists in this matchup as well as forcing the opposition into 9 turnovers and getting 5 steals. When talking about grabbing rebounds, they collected 34 with 6 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Gamecocks converted 13 of their 19 shots for a percentage of 68.4%. South Carolina ended the contest with a 36.1% field goal percentage (22 of 61) and made 10 out of their 30 three-point shots.

Meechie Johnson is one guy who was a major factor for this game. He ended up going 50.0% from the floor and dished out 4 dimes. He played for 30 mins played and also totaled 3 boards. He ended up finishing with 26 points on 8 of 16 shooting.

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South Carolina heads into this game with a mark of 7-1 this season. They turn it over 10.0 times per game and as a unit they commit 17.1 fouls per game. As a team, South Carolina is pulling down 35.3 rebounds per game and has earned 119 dimes for the season, which is 167th in D-1 in terms of passing. The Gamecocks are shooting 39.2% on shots from beyond the arc (76 of 194) and 70.1% from the free throw line. They are averaging 75.5 points per outing (159th in the country) while going 45.8% from the floor.

On defense, the Gamecocks are forcing 11.3 turnovers every game and they draw 17.8 personal fouls. They are ranked 86th in college hoops in allowing assists with 91 surrendered this year. The Gamecocks are giving up a shooting percentage of 40.9% (182 of 445) and they surrender 32.9 rebounds per contest as a group. They are giving up 34.0% on shots from downtown and they are 61st in college basketball in opponents PPG (65.3).

The last time they took the court, the East Carolina Pirates took home the win by a final score of 63-52 when they played Maryland Eastern Shore. The Pirates corralled 24 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards for a total of 35 in the matchup. They also gave up possession of the ball 8 times, while getting 12 steals for this contest. Maryland Eastern Shore was called for 18 personal fouls for this contest which got the Pirates to the charity stripe for a total of 21 tries. They were able to make 17 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 81.0%. With respect to shooting from distance, East Carolina made 4 of 18 tries (22.2%). When this game wrapped up, the Pirates shot 21 out of 61 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 34.4%. The Pirates permitted Maryland Eastern Shore to convert 15 out of their 52 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 28.8% in this game. They finished 33.3% from 3-point land by connecting on 8 of 24 and ended up going 14 out of 16 at the free throw line (87.5%). Concerning rebounding, East Carolina allowed Maryland Eastern Shore to get 33 in total (10 offensive).

Ezra Ausar was important for the Pirates in this game. He scored 18 points in his 29 minutes on the court and accumulated 2 assists for this contest. He made 6 of 13 in the matchup for a rate of 46.2%, and tallied 10 rebounds.

East Carolina has a win-loss mark of 6-3 for the season. The Pirates are responsible for committing 16.6 fouls per game and they shoot 69.4% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 13.2 times per contest (192nd in college basketball) and they turn it over 11.0 times per game. East Carolina has earned 688 points on the campaign (76.4 per game) and they average 37.1 boards per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Pirates are connecting on 44.8% from the field, which ranks 173rd in the nation.

The Pirates defensively are ranked 179th in the nation in PPG surrendered with 70.7. They are forcing their opponents into 12.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 45.2% from the floor (282nd in the country). The East Carolina defense gives up 32.0% on shots from beyond the arc (70 of 219) and their opponents are converting on 71.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They allow 12.7 assists and 31.7 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks them 196th and 52nd in the country.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take South Carolina

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