The South Carolina Gamecocks and the Arkansas Razorbacks meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville. Here’s an Arkansas vs South Carolina prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Arkansas vs South Carolina pick.
South Carolina Gamecocks Betting Preview
This year the Gamecocks opened things up with a 5-3 run across their first eight games. South Carolina lost to Butler, Northwestern and Virginia Tech during that time. A 5-3 stretch has occurred since then, featuring wins over Stetson, the Citadel, South Carolina State, Albany and LSU. The losses otherwise were versus Clemson, Vanderbilt and Georgia. That gives South Carolina a 10-6 record across their first 16 games of the season so far.
In the Georgia matchup over the weekend, the Gamecocks kicked off the game with a 40-34 advantage in the first half. South Carolina was outscored 41-30 the rest of the way however, ultimately leading to a 75-70 home loss in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Mike Sharavjamts with 18 points and six rebounds. Eli Ellis added 13 points with seven rebounds while Kobe Knox doubled up on 10 points and 10 boards.
Arkansas Razorbacks Betting Preview
Over on the Razorbacks’ side, they managed to win five of their first seven games over Southern, Central Arkansas, Samford, Winthrop and Jackson State. Arkansas would beat Louisville, Fresno State, Texas Tech and Queens U in the next four before a loss to Houston. Since then it’s been wins over James Madison, Tennessee and Ole Miss ahead of another loss to Auburn. In the first 16 games of the year that gives the Razorbacks a 12-4 overall run.
In the Auburn matchup back on Saturday the Razorbacks entered the second half with an ugly 49-34 deficit. Arkansas was outscored 46-39 the rest of the way, leading to a 95-73 loss in the end. Tops in scoring during the defeat was Darius Acuff with 19 points, and Meleek Thomas had 17 points with four assists and three rebounds. Malique Ewin managed to double up on 13 points with 12 rebounds as well.
Why the Arkansas Razorbacks will win
- Arkansas has won each of its last 15 games as an AP-ranked team at Bud Walton Arena.
- South Carolina has lost each of its last 13 games against AP-ranked opponents.
- Arkansas has won the first half in each of its last 13 games as an AP-ranked team at Bud Walton Arena.
Why the South Carolina Gamecocks will win
- Arkansas has lost four of its last five January games as a top-15 AP-ranked team.
- The road team has won each of South Carolina’s last three games.
- Arkansas has lost the first half in five of its last six home night games against Conference opponents.
Arkansas vs South Carolina Prediction
I’ll stick with South Carolina. The Gamecocks had a good first half over the weekend versus a talented Georgia squad but faded down the stretch. South Carolina ended up shooting 41.4 percent from the field with a 35-32 rebounding deficit, a 38-34 disadvantage in the paint and just six turnovers. The good news is that the Gamecocks held Georgia to a tepid 41.9 percent shooting on the other side, and 22.2 percent (6-of-27) from outside. South Carolina has two losses in the last three games, but to be fair those have both come to ranked teams in Vanderbilt and the Bulldogs.
As for Arkansas, they weren’t able to keep much of a pace versus Auburn in a road matchup on Saturday, giving up 56.7 percent shooting on defense. The Razorbacks posted 43.1 percent shooting themselves, with a 36-27 rebounding deficit and a 48-28 disadvantage on points in the paint. Arkansas is still 3-1 in their last three outings, though, and 7-2 in their last nine games. The Razorbacks are also scoring quite well this year, so South Carolina is going to have to step on the gas offensively if they want to keep pace in a tough road matchup on Wednesday.