Central Arkansas vs Florida Gulf Coast 2/3/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles and the Central Arkansas Bears meet Thursday in college basketball action from Farris Center. Florida Gulf Coast is sitting at 13-9 so far this year. The Eagles lost to Bellarmine in their last game. As for Central Arkansas, they’re 6-14 and coming off a loss to Jacksonville. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Florida Gulf Coast hit a 10-3 stretch in their first 13 games this year, but it’s been a tough road since then. The Eagles are just 3-6 over their last nine games, with losses to Canisius, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Liberty, Jacksonville State and Bellarmine. 

In the Bellarmine game, the Eagles posted a 30-31 deficit in the first half and a 33-43 run from there in a 74-63 defeat. Leading scorer Tavian Dunn-Martin put up 24 points with three assists, one rebound and five turnovers in the loss. 

Over on the Central Arkansas side, they went 5-10 over their first 10 games this year—improving from a 1-9 start. Since then it’s been another rough run at 1-4. The losses have come to Bellarmine, Jacksonville State, North Florida and Jacksonville. 

In the Jacksonville game, the Bears kept up well enough in the first half. Central Arkansas fell behind on a 28-44 run in the second and lost 79-59 at game’s end. Eddy Kayouloud led the way on a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards. 

The Bears are 5-1 ATS in their last six at home and 1-8 ATS in the last nine Thursday games. Central Arkansas is 2-5 ATS in their last seven after a straight-up loss. 

Meanwhile, the Eagles are 0-5 ATS in their last five road games and 2-7 ATS in their last nine overall. FGCU is 13-3 ATS in their last 16 Thursday games. 

PICK: I’m probably going to stick with Florida Gulf Coast, but probably not going near this one. The Eagles haven’t been playing all that well lately, but they’re still scoring at a decent clip. FGCU has hit 71 or more points in four of their last five games. 

As for Central AR, they’ve been at 74 or more points in three of the last four. If the Bears get off to a good start here we could see a very competitive game. I still like the Eagles a little better on a cover, though.