Gardner-Webb Bulldogs vs East Carolina Pirates Prediction, 12/21/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Gardner-Webb Bulldogs vs East Carolina Pirates

Date: Saturday, December 21, 2024

Location: Minges Coliseum in Greenville, NC

TV: ESPN+

The Gardner-Webb Bulldogs (4-8) are en route to Minges Coliseum on Saturday where they will play the East Carolina Pirates (8-4).

The Gardner-Webb Bulldogs took the court against Georgia Southern and ended up losing by a score of 86-81 in their last game. When talking about personal fouls, the Bulldogs ended up walking away with 24 and Georgia Southern racked up 24 personal fouls. They also converted 9 of 28 tries from long range. Georgia Southern ended up shooting 79.3% at the free throw line by converting 23 of 29 attempts. Furthermore, Georgia Southern pulled down 34 rebounds (15 offensive, 19 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Georgia Southern doled out 15 assists and had 7 steals in this matchup. In reference to defense, Gardner-Webb let their opponent shoot 37.5% from the field on 27 of 72 shooting. They also distributed 8 assists for this contest as well as forcing the opposition into 9 turnovers and having 4 steals. In relation to grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 34 with 6 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Bulldogs made 22 of their 25 attempts for a percentage of 88.0%. Gardner-Webb ended with a 50.0% field goal percentage (27 out of 54) and made 5 of their 13 3-pointers.

Daryl Simmons II is one player who came through in this matchup. He ended up with 18 points on 7 of 14 shooting. He played for 33 minutes but concluded the game with no rebounds. He finished the contest at 50.0% from the floor and also recorded 1 assist.

Get all of our NCAA Picks Tonight

Gardner-Webb will take the court with a record of 4-8 this season. They cough up possession 16.8 times per game and as a team they are committing 18.3 fouls every game. As a unit, Gardner-Webb is pulling in 35.0 rebounds per game and has racked up 135 assists so far this year, which has them ranked 288th in the nation in terms of passing. The Bulldogs are shooting 33.8% on shots from 3-point land (73 of 216) and 68.6% from the free throw line. They have an average of 73.4 points per game (235th in the nation) while hitting 48.4% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Bulldogs are able to force 10.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 18.1 personal fouls. They relinquish 32.2% on 3-point attempts while they are 324th in the nation in PPG allowed (78.1). The Bulldogs are allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 45.6% (333 of 731) and they relinquish 32.4 rebounds per contest as a team. They are 315th in college in giving up assists with 177 relinquished so far this year.

In their last game, the East Carolina Pirates took home the win by a final score of 75-64 when they faced FIU. Concerning how they attacked the glass, East Carolina allowed FIU to collect 26 in all (8 on the offensive side). They went 31.3% from distance by connecting on 5 of 16 and ended up shooting 7 out of 18 from the free throw line (38.9%). The Pirates allowed FIU to convert 26 out of 56 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 46.4% in the game. When the final whistle blew, the Pirates finished shooting 28 out of 58 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 48.3%. In regard to three-point attempts, East Carolina buried 6 out of 22 attempts (27.3%). They were able to knock down 13 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 86.7%. FIU earned 13 fouls in this matchup which took the Pirates to the charity stripe for a total of 15 tries. They also gave up possession of the ball 15 times, while getting 8 steals for the matchup. The Pirates pulled down 24 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 33 for the contest.

C.J. Walker pitched in for the Pirates for this game. He scored 23 points in his 34 minutes on the hardwood and earned 2 assists in the game. He made 8 of 14 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 57.1%, and had 10 rebounds.

East Carolina has a mark of 8-4 this year. When it comes to offensive execution, the Pirates are hitting on 44.3% from the field, which ranks them 218th in D-1. East Carolina has accumulated 925 points so far this season (77.1 per contest) and they collect 39.4 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 12.7 times per game (272nd in college) and they lose possession via turnover 10.8 times per contest. The Pirates commit 17.0 fouls every game and they shoot 71.9% from the charity stripe.

The Pirates on the defensive side of the court are 137th in Division 1 in PPG given up with 69.4. They are able to force 12.9 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 41.8% from the floor (121st in D-1). The East Carolina defense surrenders 34.5% on 3-point shots (92 of 267) and their opponents are converting on 68.3% of their free throw shots. They concede 14.8 assists and 34.8 boards per game, which ranks 299th and 206th in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Gardner-Webb

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here