The Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens will be at Carolina First Arena to challenge the Charleston Cougars in a Colonial Athletic matchup. The game starts at 4:00 pm ET on Saturday, Jan. 23.
The Cougars enter this game hoping for similar success after barely hanging on to beat Towson 40-37 on Thursday. Terrance O’Donohue had eight points, seven rebounds, and two blocks for Charleston. The Fightin’ Blue Hens, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 79-70 loss against UNC Wilmington on Thursday. Kory Holden had a game-high 22 points.
Marvin King-Davis has been on fire over the last five games for the Fightin’ Blue Hens, averaging 18.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 0.6 assists, and 0.6 blocks.
Half-court execution will be at a premium as Charleston ranks 319th in the nation in possessions per game (66.0 possessions per game), while Delaware is 277th (67.4). Also, the offense of the Fightin’ Blue Hens seems ready to earn plenty of trips to the line. They rank 32nd in the nation in FTA rate (43.4), while the Cougars are among the nation’s most foul-happy teams (allowing a 314th-ranked mark of 43.3).
Charleston, a nine-point favorite, will look to capitalize at home against Delaware. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is set at 130 points. Even with a positive Straight Up (SU) record of 11-7, the Cougars are 5-8 Against The Spread (ATS) in those games. Teams routinely struggle to score points against the Cougars, who allow only 64.1 points per game. Teams really have to fight for three-pointers against the Cougars, who have allowed only 5.0 three-pointers to opponents per game.
As for their opponent, the Fightin’ Blue Hens head into the game with records of 5-10-1 ATS and 4-14 SU. Delaware has been particularly bad ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 3-7.
The conference rivals will be facing off in their first head-to-head contest of the season. When they last met the Fightin’ Blue Hens were winners, bumping their SU record to 4-0. The Fightin’ Blue Hens also lead the matchup ATS with a record of 3-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – Chrstn, ATS Winner – Chrstn, O/U – Over
Notes
College of Charleston is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of College of Charleston’s last 5 games.
College of Charleston is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games at home.
Delaware scores an average of just 66.3 points per game (ranked 310th). Charleston ranks 30th in points allowed, giving up 64.1 points per game.
The Charleston Cougars have a defensive rating of 97.1 (ranked 70th), while the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens have an offensive rating of 98.9 (ranked 282nd).
The Charleston Cougars average a field goal percentage of 43.8% this season. The Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens have a subpar record of 1-9 when opponents have a FG% of 43.8% or greater.
The Charleston Cougars rank lower for their field goal percentage (190th) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (177th), but the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens have a better FG% ranking (328th) than eFG% ranking (332nd).
Delaware, the 77th-ranked team in rebounding, registers an average of 38.8 rebounds per game. Charleston does worse, ranked 199th with 36.2.
Delaware makes an average of 3.9 steals per game. Charleston has a solid 11-7 record when it allows at least 3 steals.
