Check out our free Chattanooga vs East Tennessee State pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Johnson City. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.
Chattanooga vs East Tennessee State Pick & Preview: Saturday, January 28th Betting Odds
Mocs vs Buccaneers Matchup at a Glance
- Sport: NCAAB
- Teams: Chattanooga Mocs at East Tennessee State Buccaneers
- Where: Johnson City at Freedom Hall Civic Center
- Date: Saturday, January 28th
- Betting Odds: Chattanooga +2.5, CHAT +119 | ETNST -147 O/U 142.5
Mocs Preview:
Chattanooga will take the floor against the Buccaneers with an overall record of 11-11. On the road, the Mocs will be playing their 10th game of the season, having gone 4-6. So far, the Mocs have been the underdog 8 times, going 3-5 straight up. Heading into today’s contest, they are the +2.5 underdogs on the spread.
Jake Stephens comes into today’s game as the Mocs’ leading scorer at 21.75 points per contest. Not only has Stephens been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is Chattanooga’s top rebounder at 10.2 boards per contest. Behind Stephens, the team has benefited from the strong play of Jamal Johnson, who is second on the team in scoring at 13.59 points per game. Overall, he has hit 42.0% of his shots and is adding 4.14 boards per game.
On offense, Chattanooga is scoring a rate similar to the NCAA average at 74.8 points per game. This figure has come despite struggling to knock down shots from outside. Through 22 games, they have only hit 34.6% of their 3-point field goal attempts. For the season, 39.37% of their shots have come from beyond the arc.
Buccaneers Preview:
East Tennessee State heads into this matchup having played 22 games and have an overall record sitting at 8-14. So far this season, East Tennessee State has played 13 games at home, sitting with a record of 4-9. At the time of this article, the oddsmakers have the Buccaneers as the -2.5 point favorites. The Buccaneers have been favored 10 times, going 3-7 straight up.
East Tennessee State will be counting on another strong performance from the team’s leading scorer Jordan King who is averaging 13.95 points per game for the Buccaneers. King is also important to the team’s ability to score on the perimeter. So far, he leads the team in 3-point shots made. Also key to the Buccaneers’ offensive game plan is the play of Jalen Haynes who has hit 57.5% of his field goal attempts on his way to averaging 13.45 points per game.
Offensive production has been hard to come by for East Tennessee State this season, as they are currently ranked 169th in college basketball at 72.1 points per game. A major reason for low scoring totals is the fact that they have played at a below average pace, and have struggled to knock down outside shots. As a team, the Buccaneers’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 35.0%, placing them 177th in the NCAA.
Free Spread Prediction: East Tennessee State Buccaneers -2.5
Heading into this matchup, with the East Tennessee State Buccaneers sitting as -2.5 point favorites, we like them to pick up the win and cover the spread. Both team’s will be coming into the game looking to get up shots from outside, as East Tennessee State and Chattanooga are averaging 8.78 and 8.0 made 3’s per game, respectively. One trend that we feel strongly about is the fact that East Tennessee State has historically performed well against the spread at home, going 7-3 ATS (last 10). Before tonight’s matchup, we recommend getting a wager down on the Buccaneers to cover at -2.5.
