Southern foes will lock horns when the Western Carolina Catamounts (14-16) take on the Furman Paladins (17-13) at Ramsey Center. Action gets underway at 2:00 pm ET on Saturday, Feb. 27.
The Catamounts were victorious over Wofford 53-48 on Thursday. Rhett Harrelson was the team’s high scorer with 12 points on 3-for-6 shooting. The Paladins are coming off an 80-75 loss at the hands of East Tennessee State on Thursday. Kris Acox posted 16 points, five rebounds, and two steals.
Over the last five games, Stephen Croone has been hot for the Paladins. During that stretch, he has averaged 20.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 1.6 three-pointers.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Paladins won the first game 62-60. Mike Brown had a standout performance with 27 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two three-pointers in the loss.
The Catamounts come into this game 14-16 Straight Up (SU) and 15-9-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 7-3 ATS over their last 10 games. Opponents have consistently had the ball stolen by the Catamounts, who rank 18th in the country in steals per game with 8.2.
Over on the other bench, the Paladins have records of 12-9 ATS and 17-13 SU. Furman has done particularly well ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 8-2. The Furman defense as a whole has been firing on all cylinders so far, ranking 38th in Division I with only 65.8 points allowed per game.
Furman won the last meeting this season between these two teams, but the win was not enough to overtake Western Carolina in their recent head-to-head series. Its record is now 4-6 SU over the most recent meetings. The teams have an even record ATS, 5-5. Western Carolina held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers three times in the last five matchups. On the other side of the court, Furman never accomplished this feat in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – WCU, ATS Winner – WCU
Notes
“Western Carolina is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games “.
“Western Carolina is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games “.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Western Carolina’s last 5 games “.
“Western Carolina is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games at home”.
“Western Carolina is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home”.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Western Carolina’s last 6 games at home”.
“Western Carolina is 8-4 SU in its last 12 games when playing Furman”.
“Western Carolina is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Furman”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Western Carolina’s last 5 games when playing at home against Furman”.
Western Carolina scores an average of just 72.5 points per game (ranked 153rd). Furman ranks 38th in points allowed, giving up 65.8 points per game.
Western Carolina averages 70.6 possessions per game, scoring 1.026 points on each possession. While Furman averages fewer possessions per game with 65.6, they score more points per possession with 1.087.
The Western Carolina Catamounts average an effective field goal percentage of 48.7% this season. The Furman Paladins have a subpar record of 7-11 when opponents have an eFG% of 48.7% or greater.
Western Carolina attempts an average of 21.0 three pointers per game and Furman attempts 22.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Western Carolina Catamounts have an 8-11 record while the Furman Paladins have a 9-11 record.
The Western Carolina Catamounts average 8.2 steals per game (ranked 18th). The Furman Paladins have a poor record of 2-5 when they allow at least 8 steals.
