The East Tennessee State Buccaneers will be at Pete Hanna Center to take on the Samford Bulldogs in a Southern matchup. The game gets underway at 8:00 pm ET on Thursday, Jan. 14 and will air on ES3.
The Bulldogs got blown out by Furman 77-57 on Monday. Jamal Shabazz played well for Samford, contributing eight points, three rebounds, and one steal. The Buccaneers, meanwhile, are coming off an 88-51 win over VMI on Monday. T.J. Cromer led the game in scoring with 23 points on 8-for-10 shooting.
Over the last five games, Cromer has been on fire for the Buccaneers. During that stretch, he has averaged 19.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 0.8 steals, and 2.6 three-pointers.
Samford is a small two-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 143 points. The Bulldogs are attempting to build on their records of 10-7 Straight Up (SU) and 8-5 Against The Spread (ATS). Samford has gotten to the free throw line often this season. They average 17 made free throws per game, which is 33rd-best in Division I.
On the other side, the Buccaneers head into the game with records of 7-3-1 ATS and 10-6 SU. Most recently, East Tennessee State is 5-1-1 ATS over the last 10 games.
This game marks the first time these teams will play this season. The last time the conference rivals played, Samford won, but East Tennessee State still leads the head-to-head record, 2-1 SU. However, with a 2-0 record, Samford has the advantage ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – EastTn, ATS Winner – EastTn, O/U – Over
Notes
East Tennessee State hasn’t lost a game against any of its Southern Conference opponents, sitting at 3-0. Samford, on the other hand, has a losing 1-3 SU record against these teams.
Ranked 76th, the East Tennessee State Buccaneers have an offensive rating of 111.0. The Samford Bulldogs rank 144th with a defensive rating of just 100.3.
The East Tennessee State Buccaneers average a field goal percentage of 46.1% this season. The Samford Bulldogs have a poor record of 2-5 when opponents have a FG% of 46.1% or greater.
The Samford Bulldogs rank higher based on their field goal percentage (195th) than their effective field goal percentage (238th). The East Tennessee State Buccaneers rank higher based on their effective field goal percentage (76th) than their field goal percentage (84th).
The East Tennessee State Buccaneers average 6.6 steals per game. When giving up 6 or more steals, the Samford Bulldogs are an even 6-6 this season.
