Charlotte vs Western Carolina Pick – Basketball Predictions & Odds 3/18/23

The Charlotte 49ers and the Western Carolina Catamounts meet in a CBI Tournament First Round matchup in college basketball action from the Ocean Center on Saturday.

Charlotte 49ers Team Preview

The Charlotte 49ers come in as the 3-seed in the field, going 18-14 overall including a 9-11 mark in C-USA play to finish as the 5-seed in the C-USA tournament. Charlotte’s stay was short-lived as they were ousted in the quarterfinals by Middle Tennessee. Brice Williams led the 49ers in scoring with 13.4 PPG along with 5 RPG while Aly Khalifa has 11.9 PPG with a team-high 6.5 RPG to lead the 49ers in rebounding as the only other double-digit scorer for Charlotte up to this point in the year. Lu’Cye Patterson also has 9.8 PPG with a team-high 2.8 APG to lead the 49ers in assists this season. As a team, Charlotte is averaging 66.7 PPG on 47.1% shooting from the field, 37.6% from three and 74.4% from the foul line this season.

Western Carolina Catamounts Team Preview

The Western Carolina Catamounts are the 14-seed in the field after going 18-15, including a 10-8 in SoCon conference play, finishing with the 4-seed in the SoCon conference tournament. Western Carolina got by East Tennessee State before falling to Furman in OT in the conference semifinals. Tre Jackson leads the Catamounts in scoring with 16 PPG while Tyzhaun Claude has 15.4 PPG with a team-high 8.6 RPG to lead the Catamounts in rebounding and Vonterius Woolbright has 14.8 PPG with 7.5 RPG and a team-high 5.2 APG to lead Western Carolina in the assist department and to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Western Carolina up to this point in the year. As a team, Western Carolina is averaging 74.5 PPG on 43.1% shooting from the field, 34.5% from three and 71.8% from the foul line this season.

Trends

Western Carolina is 6-1 ATS in their last 7 Saturday games and 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall while the over is 6-2 in their last 8 neutral site games. Charlotte is 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 games against a team with a winning record and 6-2 ATS in their last 8 Saturday games while the over is 5-2-1 in their last 8 games overall.

Pick

I’m backing Charlotte here. I know the Catamounts are a solid team but I don’t think the Catamounts will be able to break down the 49ers’ defense, and I think Charlotte’s done a great job controlling the pace in a lot of their games this season. Western Carolina lost their last three games of the year by 9+ points and I think the struggles continue here as Charlotte gets a win and cover here.