The Davidson Wildcats (7-1) take on the Pittsburgh Panthers (8-1) at Madison Square Garden. The game starts at 12:00 pm ET on Sunday, Dec. 20 and will air on ESU and ES3.
The Wildcats easily got past Western Carolina 87-54 the last time they played. Brian Sullivan led all scorers on the team with 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting. The Panthers, meanwhile, are coming off a 72-62 win over Morehead State in their last outing. Jamel Artis led the game in scoring with 22 points on 6-for-9 shooting.
Davidson, a four-point underdog, will look to capitalize at home against Pittsburgh. Oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 160 points. The Wildcats look to build on their records of 7-1 Straight Up (SU) and 2-5 Against The Spread (ATS). The Wildcats are an incredibly accurate shooting team from the line with a .745 free throw percentage, one of the highest marks in Division I. The Wildcats, sporting the 11th-best assist-to-turnover ratio in Division I (1.72), have proven themselves to be an extremely efficient offensive team.
On the other side, the Panthers head into the game with records of 3-4 ATS and 8-1 SU. They sport the 21st-ranked scoring offense in the country, averaging 85.3 points per game. Pittsburgh is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation, converting .392 of their shots from three-point range. Pittsburgh is one of the better rebounding teams in Division I. The Panthers average 42.2 rebounds per game, making them the 31st-best team in the country for that category. When it comes to making good decisions with the ball, not many are better than the Panthers. They have one of the top assist-to-turnover ratios in the country at 1.84. Shifting to the other side of the court, teams don’t seem to hit many three-pointers against the Panthers, who are 21st in the country in terms of three-point field goals allowed at 51 this season.
Davidson and Pittsburgh have not played one another in a regular season matchup in recent years.
Predictions: SU Winner – Pitt, ATS Winner – Pitt, O/U – Over
Notes
The Davidson Wildcats average 86.1 points per game, ranking 11th in the nation. The Pittsburgh Panthers rank 23rd in points allowed with 61.6.
In its last game, Davidson won by a margin of 33 points. Pittsburgh is 5-0 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Davidson has a 2-1 record in blowouts.
Ranked ninth, the Pittsburgh Panthers have an offensive rating of 123.9. The Davidson Wildcats rank 208th with a defensive rating of just 103.0.
Pittsburgh is ranked 17th in the country with an average field goal percentage of 49.5%. Davidson is an even 1-1 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Davidson Wildcats rank lower for their field goal percentage (97th) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (53rd), but the Pittsburgh Panthers have a better FG% ranking (17th) than eFG% ranking (33rd).
Pittsburgh ranks among the best in the nation in assists at sixth (20.2 assists per game). Davidson is ranked 65th with 15.9 assists per game.
Pittsburgh, the 51st-ranked team in blocked shots, registers an average of 5.1 per game. Davidson does worse, ranked 157th with 3.6.
Davidson ranks 325th in offensive rebounds, while Pittsburgh ranks 26th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Davidson makes 5.5 steals per game. Pittsburgh has a tremendous 6-1 record when it gives up at least 5 steals.
