The Winthrop Eagles (18-10, 12-5 BigSou) and Charleston Southern Buccaneers (13-15, 8-9 BigSou) will battle at Winthrop Coliseum to bring the regular season to an end. Action begins at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 24, 2018.
Charleston Southern Buccaneers vs. Winthrop Eagles Free Preview
In the Buccaneers last matchup, they defeated the Campbell Fighting Camels, 72-68. Cortez Mitchell was Charleston Southern’s leading scorer with 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting. Charleston Southern was 6-14 on three pointers (42.9 percent), while Campbell was just 5-25 (20.0 percent).
The Eagles are hoping for a better outcome after their 89-75 loss to the UNC Asheville Bulldogs in their last contest. Anders Broman was Winthrop’s leading scorer with 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting. UNC Asheville held the Eagles to an offensive rebounding percentage of 13.2 (below their season average of 27.4). Winthrop, on the other hand, had a turnover percentage of 11.5 (better than their season average of 17.0).
The sharp-shooting offense of Winthrop will face off against the porous defense of Charleston Southern. The Eagles currently rank 23rd in effective field goal percentage (0.563), while the Buccaneers are 264th in effective field goal percentage allowed (0.523). The Eagles figure to have the edge on that end of the court.
Josh Ferguson has been solid as of late for Winthrop, averaging 12.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks over the last five games.
These teams have already met once this season. The Eagles won 64-53. The Eagles played a nearly flawless game. They had a great free throw rate of 0.260 and a phenomenal offensive rebounding percentage of 35.5. The Buccaneers recorded marks of 0.016 and 17.1, respectively, for those same stats. Xavier Cooks was the games top overall scorer with 15 points.
Charleston Southern Buccaneers vs. Winthrop Eagles Odds Prediction
Free Prediction: SU Winner – Charleston Southern, ATS Winner – Charleston Southern, O/U – Over
Betting Notes:
- The Eagles rank 35th in blocks per game (4.6) while the Buccaneers rank 94th (3.6).
- Winthrop averages 25.3 three pointers per game, which ranks 50th in the NCAA. Charleston Southern ranks 230th in three pointers allowed per game (24.0).
- The Buccaneers rank 51st in steals per game (7.3) while the Eagles rank 190th in steals allowed per game (7.4).
- Winthrop ranks 42nd in assists allowed per game (11.5) while Charleston Southern ranks 138th (13.4).
Betting Trends:
- The Eagles average margin of victory in their last five games has been 9.2, up from 9.0 for the season.
- During their last five games, the Buccaneers have scored an average of 76.0 points per game (3.9 above their season average) and allowed an average of 69.4 points per game (0.3 above their season average).
