The Western Carolina Catamounts (2-3) travel to Colonial Life Arena to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks (6-0). The game begins at 7:00 pm ET on Monday, Nov. 30 and can be seen on SEC and ES3.
The Gamecocks defeated Lipscomb 92-76 on Friday. Laimonas Chatkevicius was the team’s leading scorer with 17 points on 7-for-7 shooting. The Catamounts, meanwhile, are coming off a close 57-56 loss at the hands of Charleston on Friday. Torrion Brummitt led the game in scoring with 18 points.
South Carolina is a big 17-point favorite at home and the Over/Under (O/U) for this matchup is 153 points. The Gamecocks have started off well with a 6-0 record Straight Up (SU) as well as Against The Spread (ATS). The Gamecocks come into the game with the 30th-ranked scoring offense in the nation, averaging 85.5 points per game. South Carolina has gotten to the free throw line often this season. They average 21 made free throws per game, which is 18th-best in Division I. Expect to see a lot of second-chance opportunities for South Carolina in this matchup, which is one of the top rebounding teams in the nation with an average of 15.0 offensive boards per game.
On the other side, the Catamounts have records of 1-1 ATS and 2-3 SU. Western Carolina’s three-point defense is one of the top in the country, with opponents making only 3.0 shots from the three-point line per game.
South Carolina and Western Carolina will be facing off for their first head-to-head game in recent seasons.
Predictions: SU Winner – SC, ATS Winner – SC, O/U – Over
Notes
South Carolina is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games.
South Carolina averages 85.5 points per game (ranked 30th). Western Carolina, on the other hand, allows 74.6 points per game (ranked 234th).
Ranked 42nd, the South Carolina Gamecocks have an offensive rating of 116.8. The Western Carolina Catamounts rank 209th with a defensive rating of just 103.2.
Western Carolina has an average field goal percentage of 40.7%. South Carolina is undefeated (3-0) when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The South Carolina Gamecocks rank higher based on their field goal percentage (119th) than their effective field goal percentage (154th). The Western Carolina Catamounts rank higher based on their effective field goal percentage (275th) than their field goal percentage (280th).
South Carolina ranks 93rd in assists, registering 15.3 per game. Western Carolina performs worse at 190th with 13.4 assists per game.
South Carolina, the 96th-ranked team in blocked shots, records an average of 4.3 per game. Western Carolina does worse, ranked 239th with 2.8.
South Carolina ranks 30th in offensive rebounding. Western Carolina ranks 243rd in defensive rebounding.
The Western Carolina Catamounts average 8.2 steals per game. The South Carolina Gamecocks are undefeated with a 1-0 record when they give up at least 8 steals.
