It will be a battle between Southern opponents when the Wofford Terriers (9-12) welcome the Western Carolina Catamounts (8-13) to Benjamin Johnson Arena. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Saturday, Jan. 30.
The Terriers were victorious over East Tennessee State 87-73 on Thursday. Spencer Collins led all scorers on the team with 24 points on 5-for-13 shooting. The Catamounts are coming off a bitter 62-60 loss to Furman on Thursday. Mike Brown had a game-high 27 points.
Over the last five games, Eric Garcia and Collins have been better than usual for the Terriers. During that stretch, Garcia has averaged 15.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 2.4 three-pointers. Not to be outdone, Collins has put up 21.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 4.4 three-pointers.
Wofford is a five-point favorite against Western Carolina and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is 141 points. The Terriers come into this game 9-12 Straight Up (SU) and 7-9 Against The Spread (ATS). The Terriers are a phenomenal shooting team from the line with a .747 free throw percentage, one of the highest marks in Division I.
Over on the other bench, Western Carolina has a SU record of 8-13 and an ATS record of 8-7-1.
This is the first meeting of the season for these conference rivals. The last time they played, Wofford came out on top, bumping its SU record to 7-3 over Western Carolina in their most recent meetings. With a 7-2-1 record, the Terriers also have the advantage ATS. Western Carolina had the advantage in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) twice over the last five matchups. Wofford has never had the edge in all three categories.
Predictions: SU Winner – WCU, ATS Winner – WCU, O/U – Over
Notes
Wofford is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games.
Wofford is 22-3 SU in its last 25 games at home.
Wofford is 5-0-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Western Carolina.
Wofford is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Western Carolina.
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Wofford’s last 12 games when playing Western Carolina.
Wofford is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Western Carolina.
Wofford holds a 5-3 SU record against the Southern Conference this season, while Western Carolina has a losing 3-5 SU record against the conference.
The Western Carolina Catamounts average 72.1 possessions per game and 1.013 points per possession. The Wofford Terriers earn fewer possessions with 65.4, but they score more points with 1.066.
Wofford has an average effective field goal percentage of 51.7%. Western Carolina is a subpar 2-9 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, the Wofford Terriers attempt 20.0 three point field goals per game and the Western Carolina Catamounts attempt 24.0. In games where they attempt at least 20 threes, Wofford has a 5-7 record and Western Carolina has an 8-10 record.
The Western Carolina Catamounts rank 67th in offensive rebounds. The Wofford Terriers rank 318th in the nation in defensive rebounds.
Wofford has forced an average turnover percentage of 17.6% this season. Western Carolina has a poor 4-9 record when its TO% is 17.6% or higher.
