The Furman Paladins and the East Tennessee State Buccaneers meet Saturday in college basketball action from Freedom Hall Civic Center. Furman is 11-5 on the year so far. The Paladins beat the Citadel in their last game. As for East Tennessee State, they’re 6-10 on the season after a loss to Western Carolina on Wednesday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Furman posted a 7-3 run over their first 10 games this year. The losses came to Penn State, Old Dominion and High Point. The Paladins are 4-2 in their last six with losses to North Carolina State and Western Carolina.
In their matchup Wednesday versus the Citadel, Furman took a 43-30 lead into the second half. The Paladins kept it going on a 54-42 run and won it 97-72. Mike Bothwell led the way on 27 points with six assists.
Over on the East Tennessee State side, they were 4-6 after 10 games with wins over Emory & Henry, Elon, Little Rock and Mars Hill. The Buccaneers are just 2-4 since then with wins over Wofford and VMI.
Matched up against Western Carolina on Wednesday, the Buccaneers were tied up at 38-38 by halftime. East Tennessee State posted a 33-22 deficit from there and lost 71-60. Jaden Seymour doubled up on 12 points with 12 rebounds in the defeat.
PICK: I’m going to stay with Furman here. The Paladins posted a rough loss to Western Carolina on New Year’s Eve, but otherwise they’ve played quite well over the last five games. Furman has posted 72 or more points in their last four wins, and 85 or more points in their last three wins. As for ETSU, they’ve scored a tepid 124 points combined over their last two outings and may have trouble keeping the pace here if Furman gets going.