East Carolina vs South Florida 1/15/23 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The South Florida Bulls and the East Carolina Pirates meet Sunday in college basketball action from Minges Coliseum. South Florida is currently 7-10 overall. The Bulls lost to Houston in their last game. As for East Carolina, they’re 10-8 on the season following a loss to Cincinnati. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

South Florida went on a 6-6 run over their first dozen games, losing to SEMO, Auburn, Stetson, Austin Peay, UAB and UMass along the way. The Bulls are 1-4 since then with losses to Memphis, Temple, Wichita State and Houston. 

Matched up against Houston on Wednesday, the Bulls were within one point 37-36 at the break. South Florida couldn’t keep up in a 46-41 second-half deficit and lost 83-77. Tyler Harris topped the team on 31 points. 

Over on the East Carolina side, they hit an 8-4 run over their first 12 games with losses to Indiana State, Old Dominion, SC State and UNC Wilmington. The Pirates are 2-4 in their last six with wins over only High Point and Wichita State. 

On Wednesday versus Cincinnati, the Pirates took a 38-25 deficit into the second half. East Carolina fell further behind on a 45-30 run and lost 83-55. Javon Small was the leading team scorer on 23 points and five assists. 

PICK: I’m going to try South Florida in this one. The Bulls posted a respectable effort against a top-shelf Houston team in the last outing, shooting 48.9 percent from the field with a 36-30 rebounding advantage. South Florida’s 18 turnovers were a key factor in the loss, though. South Florida has fallen in four straight games now, but they’ve still been scoring pretty well along the way. As for East Carolina, they’ve been at 61 or fewer points in three straight games and may not have the firepower to keep USF at bay.