TCU vs South Alabama Prediction 12-16-24 College Basketball Picks

The South Alabama Jaguars and the TCU Horned Frogs meet Monday in college basketball action from Schollmaier Arena. Here’s a TCU vs South Alabama prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best TCU vs South Alabama pick.

South Alabama Jaguars Betting Preview

The Jaguars lost two of their first three games to Central Michigan and Ole Miss. South Alabama hit a 5-1 run in the next six, however, taking out Mercer, Spring Hill, Incarnate Word, Alcorn State, and Jacksonville State.

In their Sunday game versus East Texas A&M, the Jags held a 38-32 edge at the break. South Alabama kept the pace in the second and took the eventual win 81-72. Myles Corey paced the team with 27 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the field.

TCU Horned Frogs Betting Preview

Over on the TCU side, they beat Florida A&M, Florida Gulf Coast, Texas State, and Alcorn State in their first five games. The Frogs are just 1-3 in the last four though, falling to Santa Clara, Colorado State, and Vanderbilt.

In the Vanderbilt game last Sunday, the Frogs were facing a three-point deficit in the locker room. TCU was outscored from there 42-36 and didn’t get any closer in an 83-74 loss. Four different players scored a team-high 11 points in the defeat.

Why the TCU Horned Frogs will win

• TCU has won each of its last 17 night games at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• South Alabama has lost three of its last four games following a road win.
• TCU has won the first half in 18 of its last 19 night games at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the South Alabama Jaguars will win

• South Alabama has won seven of its last eight games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• TCU has lost three of its last four games.
• South Alabama has won the first half in six of its last eight games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

TCU vs South Alabama Prediction

I’ll just stick with TCU here. The Frogs shot quite well (49 percent) from the field in their latest loss to a good Vanderbilt team. The 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from 3-point range was nice as well but was stymied by the 37-29 rebounding deficit and the 18 turnovers. The good news is that TCU has scored 72 or more points in three straight; the bad news is that they’ve given up 72 or more in each of those games as well.

As for the Jaguars, they’ve been on a pretty nice scoring run lately. South Alabama has posted 74 or more points in five of the last six games, and 70 or more in eight of 10 games overall. The Jaguars have faltered in a couple of outings however, and may not be able to keep a relative pace on the Frogs. TCU needs to get off to a good start and maintain a solid scoring rhythm the whole way, but I think they’ll be fine cover-wise here.