The Citadel Bulldogs (10-15) will travel to Timmons Arena to play against the Furman Paladins (15-11) in their home finale. The game gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Thursday, Feb. 11 and can be seen on ES3.
The Paladins defeated UNC Greensboro 79-72 on Monday. Stephen Croone was the team’s leading scorer with 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 95-86 loss against Samford on Monday. Derrick Henry led the team in scoring with 22 points.
It will be a tale of two tempos, as the fast-breaking Bulldogs (ranked first in the nation in possessions per game) take on the methodical Paladins (334th).
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Bulldogs won the first game 89-86. Devin Sibley had a standout performance with 16 points, four rebounds, three assists, one block, and two three-pointers in the loss.
The Paladins have gone 15-11 Straight Up (SU) and 10-7 Against The Spread (ATS). Furman has averaged 85.2 points per game over the last 10 games, higher than its season average of 69.7. The Furman defense has done poorly against opposing offenses during the last 10 games, allowing an average of 94.0 points per game, well above their season average of 64.2. Expect Furman to have lots of opportunities at the line against the Bulldogs, who are one of the most foul-prone teams in the nation with an average of 24.5 fouls per game.
In the other locker room, the Bulldogs head into the game with records of 8-9 ATS and 10-15 SU. Citadel has done particularly well ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 7-3. The Bulldogs will be looking to pick it up in this one after recent offensive struggles. In their most recent 10 games, their scoring has dropped to 69.5 PPG, compared to 69.7 for the duration of the season. The Bulldogs are an excellent long-range shooting team with 294 three-point shots made (11.0 per game), ranking second in Division I. The Citadel defense has allowed an average of 66.2 points per game during the last 10 games, lower than their season average of 93.0. They average 9.4 steals per game, good for sixth in the nation.
The Bulldogs’ win over Furman in their last clash couldn’t give them the edge in the head-to-head record over their most recent meetings, where Furman still leads 6-4 SU. Additionally, with a 6-4 record, Furman has the advantage ATS. In these last five matchups, each team was able to hold the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers one time.
Predictions: SU Winner – Cit, ATS Winner – Cit
Notes
The Citadel Bulldogs average the most points per game this season with 88.6, while the Furman Paladins are the 23rd-best team in points allowed with 64.2.
The Furman Paladins have a defensive rating of 98.1 (ranked 74th), while the Citadel Bulldogs have an offensive rating of 107.5 (ranked 131st).
The Furman Paladins average a field goal percentage of 44.8% this season. The Citadel Bulldogs have a subpar record of 6-15 when opponents have a FG% of 44.8% or greater.
The Furman Paladins and the Citadel Bulldogs both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Furman is 139th and 109th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Citadel is 244th and 125th in these categories.
Ranked 24th in the nation, Citadel has an average of 16.6 assists per game. Furman ranks lower at 256th with 12.3.
The Citadel Bulldogs average 9.4 steals per game (ranked sixth). The Furman Paladins have a losing record of 1-2 when they give up at least 9 steals.
