The Furman Paladins and San Diego State Aztecs meet Saturday in the college basketball NCAA Tournament Second Round at the Amway Center. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.
The Furman Paladins are averaging 82.2 points on 48.6 percent shooting and allowing 71.1 points on 44.8 percent shooting. Mike Bothwell is averaging 18 points and 3 assists, while Jalen Slawson is averaging 15.7 points and 7.1 rebounds. JP Pegues is the third double-digit scorer and Marcus Foster is dishing 1.1 assists. The Furman Paladins are shooting 35.1 percent from beyond the arc and 74.5 percent from the free throw line. The Furman Paladins are allowing 34.4 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 33.2 rebounds per game.
The San Diego State Aztecs are averaging 72.9 points on 45.2 percent shooting and allowing 64.4 points on 42.1 percent shooting. Matt Bradley is averaging 12.9 points and 3.8 rebounds, while Darrion Trammell is averaging 9.5 points and 2.2 rebounds. Lamont Butler is grabbing 2.6 rebounds and Jaedon LeDee is dishing 1 assist. The San Diego State Aztecs are shooting 36.3 percent from beyond the arc and 73.1 percent from the free throw line. The San Diego State Aztecs are allowing 29.8 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 32.4 rebounds per game.
The Paladins are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 Saturday games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Aztecs are 5-0-1 ATS in their last 6 Saturday games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The over is 4-1 in Paladins last 5 overall. The under is 13-3 in Aztecs last 16 overall.
Give the Furman Paladins credit for getting to this point, and this is a similar matchup as their first round, as SDSU is an elite defensive team that goes through scoring droughts. Just like Virginia. So, there is a case for the points. However, with respect to Furman, Virginia blew that game, up 12 with less than 12 minutes to play, and even then, needed help from a boneheaded play from Kihei Clark. San Diego State is a little more disciplined team and just grinds its opponents into dust. Chalk is reasonable. I’ll side with SDSU.