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

Western Carolina vs VMI Pick & Preview: Saturday, January 28th Betting Odds

Catamounts vs Keydets Matchup at a Glance

  • Sport: NCAAB
  • Teams: Western Carolina Catamounts at VMI Keydets
  • Where: Lexington at Cameron Hall
  • Date: Saturday, January 28th
  • Betting Odds: Western Carolina -3.5, WCAR -173 | VAMIL +139 O/U 141.5

Catamounts Preview:

Western Carolina heads into this matchup having played 22 games and have an overall record sitting at 11-11. On the road, the Catamounts will be playing their 10th game of the season, having gone 3-7. This season, Western Carolina has been favored to win in 6 games, sitting with a mark of 3-3. For today’s contest, Western Carolina has a betting line set -3.5 points in their favor.

Tyzhaun Claude comes into today’s game as the Catamounts’ leading scorer at 15.14 points per contest. Not only has Claude been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is Western Carolina’s top rebounder at 8.32 boards per contest. Behind Claude, the team has benefited from the strong play of Tre Jackson, who is second on the team in scoring at 14.14 points per game. Overall, he has hit 40.9% of his shots and is adding 3.86 boards per game.

Offensive production has been hard to come by for Western Carolina this season, as they are currently ranked 221st in college basketball at 70.7 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 Catamounts’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 31.9%, placing them 372nd in the NCAA.

Keydets Preview:

Coming into today’s matchup, the VMI Keydets are in the middle of a 11 game losing streak and have an overall record of 5-17. Currently, the Keydets have been the home team 10 times, sitting with a record of 5-5. So far, the Keydets have been the underdog 18 times, going 2-16 straight up. Heading into today’s contest, they are the +3.5 underdogs on the spread.

VMI will be counting on another strong performance from the team’s leading scorer Sean Conway who is averaging 14.09 points per game for the Keydets. Conway 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 Keydets’ offensive game plan is the play of Asher Woods who has hit 40.4% of his field goal attempts on his way to averaging 14.0 points per game.

Through 22 games, VMI has been playing well on offense, averaging 79.1 points per game. Even though the team has been methodical with their pace, the Keydets’ shooters have been hot from outside, hitting 38.3% of their shots per game. This strong shooting percentage has equated to an average of 12.55 made 3’s per contest.

Free Spread Prediction: Western Carolina Catamounts -3.5

Heading into this matchup, with the Western Carolina Catamounts sitting as -3.5 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 Western Carolina and VMI are averaging 10.0 and 12.55 made 3’s per game, respectively. One trend that we feel strongly about is the fact that Western Carolina has historically performed well against the spread on the road, going 6-4 ATS (last 10). Before tonight’s matchup, we recommend getting a wager down on the Catamounts to cover at -3.5.