SMU Mustangs vs East Carolina Pirates Prediction, 1/13/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: SMU Mustangs vs East Carolina Pirates

Date: Saturday, January 13, 2024

Location: Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum in Greenville, NC

TV: ESPN+

Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum is the location where the East Carolina Pirates (9-7) will try to beat the SMU Mustangs (10-5) on Saturday.

The SMU Mustangs stepped onto the hardwood against Memphis and went home with a loss by a final score of 62-59 in their last contest. SMU finished the game with a 33.8% field goal percentage (22 of 65) and made 3 of 21 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the free throw line, the Mustangs buried 12 of 21 shots for a percentage of 57.1%. Pertaining to grabbing rebounds, they collected 38 with 16 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 12 assists for the matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 16 turnovers and having 9 steals. With regard to defense, SMU allowed the other team to go 44.2% from the floor on 23 of 52 shooting. Memphis earned 13 assists and had 6 steals in this matchup. Moreover, Memphis snagged 30 rebounds (6 offensive, 24 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Memphis finished shooting 52.6% when shooting free throws by knocking down 10 of 19 tries. They made 6 out of their 20 tries from beyond the perimeter. In relation to personal fouls, the Mustangs finished with 21 while Memphis finished the game with 19 personal fouls.

Tyreek Smith is one guy who was important in the matchup. He was able to score 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting. He saw the court for 21 minutes played and grabbed 7 boards. He finished shooting 71.4% from the field but had no assists at the end of the game.

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SMU enters this contest with a mark of 10-5 so far this year. They lose possession by turning the ball over 12.3 times per game and as a group they commit 17.1 fouls every game. As a unit, SMU is snagging 40.9 rebounds per contest and has racked up 236 dimes on the year, which has them ranked 95th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Mustangs are hitting 34.2% on shots from 3-point land (107 of 313) and 65.8% from the charity stripe. They average 74.5 points per outing (187th in Division 1) while hitting 45.6% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Mustangs are able to force 13.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 14.4 personal fouls. They are giving up 26.3% from 3-point land while they are 10th in college basketball in points per game allowed (61.7). The Mustangs defensively are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 36.6% (321 of 876) and they surrender 34.6 rebounds per contest as a team. They are 107th in college basketball in giving up assists with 178 conceded this year.

The last time they took the court, the East Carolina Pirates took home the win by a final score of 73-62 when they faced Temple. The Pirates snagged 24 defensive rebounds and 2 offensive boards for a total of 26 for this contest. They coughed up the ball 9 times, while recording 4 steals in this contest. Temple committed 11 fouls in the matchup which took the Pirates to the free throw line for a total of 11 tries. They were able to make 10 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 90.9%. When discussing shots from 3-point land, East Carolina made 9 of their 21 attempts (42.9%). At the conclusion of this game, the Pirates finished 27 out of 50 from the floor which had them at 54.0%. The Pirates permitted Temple to bury 20 out of their 55 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 36.4% for the matchup. They went 25.9% from downtown by going 7 of 27 and ended up shooting 15 of 19 from the free throw line (78.9%). When discussing how they cleaned up the glass, East Carolina permitted Temple to collect 29 in all (10 offensive).

RJ Felton ended up being a major contributor for the Pirates in the matchup. He made 8 of 10 in the game giving him a rate of 80.0%, and tallied 5 rebounds. He totaled 20 points in his 38 mins of playing time and had 3 dimes for this game.

East Carolina has a mark of 9-7 this season. The Pirates are responsible for committing 16.3 personal fouls every game and they shoot 70.0% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 12.1 times per contest (283rd in Division 1) and they cough up possession 10.8 times per game. East Carolina has accounted for 1,163 points on the season (72.7 per game) and they pull down 35.8 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Pirates are shooting 43.9% from the floor, which ranks them 225th in Division 1.

The Pirates defensively are ranked 131st in college hoops in points allowed per contest with 69.3. They are forcing 13.2 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 43.6% from the field (218th in college basketball). The East Carolina defense gives up 31.1% on 3-point attempts (121 of 389) and their opposition makes 72.3% of their foul shots. They allow 12.4 dimes and 33.9 boards every game, which is 151st and 138th in college hoops.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take East Carolina

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