The Eastern Kentucky Colonels and the Pittsburgh Panthers meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Petersen Events Center. Here’s a Pittsburgh vs Eastern Kentucky prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Pittsburgh vs Eastern Kentucky pick.
Eastern Kentucky Colonels Betting Preview
The Colonels went 4-2 over their first six games this year, taking out Alice Lloyd, ETSU, Chicago State, and Southern Illinois in that time. After losses to LA Tech and Troy, Eastern Kentucky won again versus Campbellsville-Harrodsburg.
In the matchup with Campbellsville-Harrodsburg on Friday, the Colonels came out of halftime with a 54-35 edge. Eastern Kentucky scored 44 more from there and won 98-62. Leading team scorer George Kimble put up 23 points with five rebounds. Eastern Kentucky will meet Eastern Illinois, Jacksonville State, and Louisville after this one.
Pittsburgh Panthers Betting Preview
Over on the Panthers’ side, they beat Radford, Murray State, Gardner-Webb, West Virginia, VMI, and LSU in their first six. Since then it’s been losses to Wisconsin and Mississippi State mixed with wins over Ohio State and Virginia Tech in the last four.
On Saturday versus the Hokies, the Panthers were in trouble at the break with a 36-28 deficit. Pittsburgh came alive after that with 36 more points in a comeback 64-49 result. Jaland Lowe led the team with 19 points and four steals.
Why the Pittsburgh Panthers will win
- Pittsburgh has won each of its last 11 games at Petersen Events Center.
- Eastern Kentucky has lost each of its last 10 games against AP-ranked opponents.
- Eastern Kentucky has lost the first half in each of its last 10 games against AP-ranked opponents.
Why the Eastern Kentucky Colonels will win
- Eastern Kentucky has won four of its last five night games.
- Eastern Kentucky has won the first half in 11 of its last 12 night games.
Pittsburgh vs Eastern Kentucky Prediction
I’ll just stay with Pittsburgh. The Panthers dispatched a tricky Virginia Tech team despite a slow start in their last outing. Pittsburgh posted a tepid 41.1 percent shooting with 12 turnovers but also hit all 12 of their free throws. With 121 combined points in their last two games, however, the Panthers could use a good offensive showing on Wednesday.
As for EKU, they’re coming off a pretty routine blowout win despite going just 14-of-28 (50 percent) from the line. The Colonels have a nice 69 or more points in four straight games now, but they’ve also given up 77 or more points in three of those. Pitt should be able to stretch their legs offensively in this one, so even with a somewhat hefty line I like the Panthers better on a potential cover.