The Belmont Bruins and the Furman Paladins meet Friday in college basketball action from Timmons Arena. Belmont is 1-0 so far after a close opener win over Ohio. As for Furman, they won their opener as well with a blowout result versus North Greenville. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Belmont managed to go 25-8 overall last season with a solid 15-3 record in Ohio Valley Conference games. The Bruins were behind only Murray State (18-0) in the standings. Belmont ended up losing in the First Round of the NIT, however.
In their first game of the year versus Ohio, Belmont had to scramble to pull out a win. The Bruins were outscored 35-29 in the second half but still hung on for a 70-69 result. Both Ben Sheppard and Cade Tyson scored 18 points apiece to lead the way.
Over on the Furman side, they’re coming off a pretty good 22-12 overall run last season with a 12-6 mark in Southern Conference matchups. The Paladins were in second place in the standings behind Chattanooga, losing to the Mocs in overtime during the conference tourney championship game.
Furman got off to a good start in 2022-23 with their matchup versus North Greenville, The Paladins scored 37 points in the first half and 54 more from there in a 91-55 blowout win. Jalen Slawson led the way on 17 points, and Mike Bothwell added 16 points of his own.
PICK: I’m going with Belmont here. The Bruins faded a bit after halftime in their win versus Ohio, but they still ended up shooting nearly 50 percent (49.1) from the field with 30 rebounds and 17 assists. Belmont wasn’t great from the line (53.8 percent) or 3-point range (28.0 percent), however. As for Furman, they didn’t have a ton of trouble versus North Greenville in their first matchup. This one will mark an uptick in competition though, so it should be a fun one.