Check out our free SMU vs East Carolina pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Greenville. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.

SMU vs East Carolina Pick & Preview: Saturday, February 4th Betting Odds

Mustangs vs Pirates Matchup at a Glance

  • Sport: NCAAB
  • Teams: SMU Mustangs at East Carolina Pirates
  • Where: Greenville at Minges Coliseum
  • Date: Saturday, February 4th
  • Betting Odds: SMU -2, SMU -137 | ECAR +113 O/U 141.0

Mustangs Preview:

Through 23 games, the SMU Mustangs have an overall record of 8-15. On the road, the Mustangs will be playing their 10th game of the season, having gone 2-8. This season, SMU has been favored to win in 10 games, sitting with a mark of 6-4. For today’s contest, SMU has a betting line set -2 points in their favor.

SMU’s leading scorer this season is Zhuric Phelps, who is averaging 16.62 points per contest. So far, Phelps has accounted for 21.94% of the team’s scoring. In addition, he is contributing 3.71 rebounds per game and 2.67 assists. Zach Nutall is the second leading scorer for the Mustangs, averaging 13.61 points per game. Between him and Nutall, they are accounting for 41.6% of the team’s scoring.

On offense, SMU comes into the game looking to control the pace of play, as they are just 446th in possessions per game. Even with their preference to slow the game down, the Mustangs’ are scoring at a rate similar to the NCAA average at 74.4 points per game. So far, 42.57% of their shots have come from beyond the arc, where they have connected at a rate of 36.3%.

Pirates Preview:

East Carolina will take the floor against the Mustangs with an overall record of 11-12. Currently, the Pirates have been the home team 13 times, sitting with a record of 8-5. So far, the Pirates have been the underdog 13 times, going 4-9 straight up. Heading into today’s contest, they are the +2 underdogs on the spread.

East Carolina will be counting on another strong performance from the team’s leading scorer RJ Felton who is averaging 12.74 points per game for the Pirates. Felton is also important to the team’s ability to score on the perimeter. So far, he leads the team in 3-point shots made. RJ Felton will be looking for additional help in the scoring deparment, as the team’s is going to be without Javon Small. Through 23 games he is 2nd on the team at 15.78 points per contest. Overall, he has connected on 39.7% of his field goal attempts.

Offensive production has been hard to come by for East Carolina this season, as they are currently ranked 276th in college basketball at 68.8 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 Pirates’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 32.7%, placing them 334th in the NCAA.

Free Spread Prediction: East Carolina Pirates +2

A key to this matchup, will be 3-point shooting. Coming into the game, both SMU and East Carolina are excellent 3-point shooting teams, averaging 8.77 and 8.0 made 3’s per game, respectively. In terms of the odds, we like the East Carolina Pirates to cover as +2 point dogs. Look for their defense to do a good enough job closing out on the Mustangs’ outside shooters to make things difficult for SMU. At +2 we like the chances of East Carolina covering the spread as underdogs.