The Furman Paladins (11-10) look to extend their five-game home winning streak when they take on the Western Carolina Catamounts (8-12), who have dropped 10 in a row on the road. The game starts at 7:00 pm ET on Thursday, Jan. 28 and will air on ES3.
The Paladins beat VMI 68-56 on Monday. Devin Sibley led all scorers on the team with 19 points on 8-for-16 shooting. The Catamounts, meanwhile, are coming off an 86-80 win over Mercer on Sunday. Rhett Harrelson stood out for Western Carolina, posting 22 points, two rebounds, and two assists.
It could be a sloppy game for the Western Carolina offense, which ranks 281st in the nation in ball security (TO% of 20.2%). It’ll be facing the gambling Furman defense, which forces the 34th-most turnovers in the nation (21.9%).
Furman is a six-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 137 points. The Paladins are attempting to build on their records of 11-10 Straight Up (SU) and 6-6 Against The Spread (ATS). The Furman defense has been very good, only giving up 63.8 points per game.
On the other side, Western Carolina has a SU record of 8-12 and an ATS record of 7-7-1. They average 8.6 steals per game, good for 19th in the nation.
These conference rivals will be facing off in their first head-to-head clash of the season. When they last met the Paladins were winners, but Western Carolina still leads the head-to-head record over their most recent games, 7-3 SU. At 5-5, they are even ATS. Western Carolina topped the Paladins in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) twice over the last five matchups. Furman has never had the edge in all three categories.
Predictions: SU Winner – WCU, ATS Winner – WCU, O/U – Over
Notes
Furman is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games.
Furman is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home.
Furman is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games when playing Western Carolina.
Furman is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games when playing at home against Western Carolina.
Western Carolina averages 73.8 points per game, placing the team just 172nd in the nation. Furman ranks 26th in points allowed, giving up 63.8 points per game.
The Furman Paladins have a defensive rating of 96.7 (ranked 58th), while the Western Carolina Catamounts have an offensive rating of 101.6 (ranked 251st).
Furman has an average field goal percentage of 44.1%. Western Carolina is a subpar 2-8 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Furman Paladins and the Western Carolina Catamounts both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Furman is 174th and 127th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Western Carolina is 308th and 270th in these categories.
The Western Carolina Catamounts rank 77th in offensive rebounds. The Furman Paladins rank 245th in the nation in defensive rebounds.
Furman has forced an average turnover percentage of 21.9% this season. Western Carolina has an abysmal 1-5 record when its TO% is 21.9% or higher.
