Check out our free Western Kentucky vs South Carolina pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Columbia. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.
Western Kentucky vs South Carolina Pick & Preview: Thursday, December 22nd Betting Odds
Hilltoppers vs Gamecocks Matchup at a Glance
- Sport: NCAAB
- Teams: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at South Carolina Gamecocks
- Where: Columbia at Colonial Life Arena
- Date: Thursday, December 22nd
- Betting Odds: Western Kentucky -3, WKENT -155 | SC +126 O/U 132.5
Hilltoppers Preview:
Western Kentucky will take the floor against the Gamecocks with an overall record of 8-2. So far, the Hilltoppers have played 4 games on the road, with a record of 3-1. This season, Western Kentucky has been favored to win in 7 games, sitting with a mark of 5-2. For today’s contest, Western Kentucky have a betting line set -3 points in their favor.
Western Kentucky’s leading scorer this season is Dayvion McKnight who is averaging 15.4 points per contest. So far, McKnight has accounted for 19.87% of the team’s scoring. In addition, he is contributing 4.6 rebounds per game and 5.0 assists. Emmanuel Akot is the second leading scorer for the Hilltoppers, averaging 13.0 points per game. Between him and Akot, they are accounting for 36.6% of the team’s scoring.
Western Kentucky comes into today’s matchup vs South Carolina, looking to continue their strong offensive play, as they are averaging 75.4 points per game. Through 10 games, they have hit 46.7% of their field goal attempts. In terms of pace, the Hilltoppers’ have prefered to slow the game down, ranking 345th in possessions per game.
Gamecocks Preview:
Coming into today’s matchup, the South Carolina Gamecocks are in the middle of a 2 game losing streak and have an overall record of 5-6. Currently, the Gamecocks have been the home team 7 times, sitting with a record of 4-3. So far, the Gamecocks have been the underdog 6 times, going 2-4 straight up. Heading into today’s contest, they are the +3 underdogs on the spread.
Gregory Jackson II comes into today’s game as the Gamecocks’ leading scorer at 17.0 points per contest. Not only has II been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is South Carolina’s top rebounder at 6.64 boards per contest. Behind II, the team has benefited from the strong play of Hayden Brown who is second on the team in scoring at 11.91 points per game. Overall, he has hit 45.8% of his shots and is adding 5.45 boards per game.
Offensive production has been hard to come by for South Carolina this season, as they are currently ranked 205th in college basketball at 71.0 points per game. A major reason for low scoring totals is the fact that that have played at a below average pace, and have struggled to knock down outside shots. As a team, the Gamecocks’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 31.6%, placing them 385th in the NCAA.
Free Spread Prediction: South Carolina Gamecocks +3
After running our analysis on this game, we’ve identified the best side to take on the spread. Currently, the oddsmakers have Western Kentucky as the favorites with a line coming in at -3. However, based on how these team’s matchup, we see this number being too high and like the South Carolina Gamecocks to cover. Both team’s have knocked down the 3-point shot at a rate similar to the NCAA average this season with Western Kentucky at 7.69 made 3’s per game compared to South Carolina at 6.81. Look for South Carolina to put together a strong enough defensive effort to cover the spread vs the Hilltoppers.
