The UNC Greensboro Spartans will be at Pete Hanna Center to face the Samford Bulldogs in a Southern matchup. Action starts at 8:00 pm ET on Thursday, Feb. 18 and will air on ES3.
The Bulldogs were beaten by Western Carolina 76-71 in their last matchup. Christen Cunningham was the game’s leading scorer, contributing 27 points. The Spartans are coming off a 65-61 win over Wofford in their last game. Diante Baldwin led the game in scoring by registering 21 points on 9-for-13 shooting.
Wyatt Walker has been playing at a high level over the last five games for the Bulldogs. During that stretch, he has averaged 16.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 0.8 steals, and 1.4 blocks.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Spartans won the first game 86-78. Despite the loss, Jamal Shabazz had a standout performance with 15 points, six rebounds, four assists, one block, and three three-pointers.
The Bulldogs are looking to improve on their records of 12-16 Straight Up (SU) and 12-13 Against The Spread (ATS). Samford has gotten to the free throw line often this season. They average 16 made free throws per game, which is 21st-best in Division I.
Across the court, UNC Greensboro has a SU record of 10-17 and an ATS record of 10-11. UNC Greensboro has been particularly bad ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 3-7. The Spartans rely heavily on three-pointers on offense, ranking 36th in the nation with 231 made (8.0 per game).
UNC Greensboro won the last meeting this season between these two teams, moving its SU record against Samford to 7-3 in their most recent head-to-head meetings. The teams are even ATS, with a 5-5 record. Both Samford and UNC Greensboro have led in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) once over the last five matchups.
Predictions: SU Winner – Sam, ATS Winner – Sam
Notes
On average, Samford has 69.8 possessions per game and scores 1.064 points on each possession. UNC Greensboro has both fewer possessions (68.4) and scores fewer points during those possessions (1.055).
Samford has an average effective field goal percentage of 50.7%. UNC Greensboro is an underachieving 1-16 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, the Samford Bulldogs attempt 16.0 three point field goals per game and the UNC Greensboro Spartans attempt 24.0. In games where they attempt at least 20 threes, Samford is 3-4, while UNC Greensboro has a losing record of 8-16.
UNC Greensboro has forced an average turnover percentage of 17.6% this season. Samford has a losing 6-13 record when its TO% is 17.6% or higher.
