Western Carolina vs Samford 1/29/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Samford Bulldogs will travel to the Ramsey Regional Activity Center to take on the Western Carolina Catamounts this Saturday afternoon in College Basketball action.

The Samford Bulldogs snapped a 4-game losing streak and improved to 12-8 on the season after defeating the Mercer Bears, 75-61, this past Wednesday. Samford led by a 31-27 margin at halftime and was able to pull away in the 2^nd half for the victory after taking a 59-47 lead with 7:45 left in regulation. Samford shot 47.5% from the field & 31.6% from beyond the arc while holding Mercer to 42.0% shooting from the field & 31.6% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Bulldogs was Ques Glover who had 20 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, & 4 steals.

On the season, Samford is averaging 74.8 ppg on 43.0% shooting from the field. The Bulldogs are averaging 9.4 three-pointers per game on 32.5% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Samford has been led by Ques Glover (18.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.4 spg), Logan Dye (13.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg), Jermaine Marshall (11.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.2 spg), & Jaden Campbell (10.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.3 spg).

Defensviely, Samford is allowing their opponents to average 74.2 ppg on 45.2% shooting from the field. The Bulldogs have a rebound margin of 2.0 and a turnover margin of 0.5.

The Western Carolina Catamounts lost their 4^th straight game and dropped to 8-13 on the season after being defeated by The Citadel Bulldogs, 68-66, this past Wednesday. Western Carolina led by a 33-18 margin at halftime, however, the Catamounts had no answers on the defensive end for The Citadel in the 2^nd half and the Bulldogs were able to take the lead for good after Hayden Brown converted a three-point play with just :05 seconds left in regulation. Western Carolina shot 39.3% from the field & 31.6% from beyond the arc while allowing The Citadel to shoot 42.4% from the field & 25.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Catamounts was Marcus Banks who had a double-double with 13 points & 10 rebounds.

On the season, Western Carolina is averaging 73.1 ppg on 40.4% shooting from the field. The Catamounts are averaging 10.3 three-pointers per game on 33.1% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Western Carolina has been led by Nicholas Robinson (14.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.1 spg), Vonterius Woolbright (10.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 4.0 apg), Joe Petrakis (8.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg), & Cam Bacote (7.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.4 apg).

Defensively, Western Carolina is allowing their opponents to average 78.1 ppg on 44.9% shooting from the field. The Catamounts have a rebound margin of 1.6 and a turnover margin of -2.7.

The Bulldogs are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 Saturday road games, however, are just 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games vs. Western Carolina. The Catamounts are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 home games, however, are just 2-4 ATS in their last 6 Saturday games.

Samford is led by their offense which ranks t-100^th in scoring offense & 31^st in three-pointers made per game, however, the Bulldogs have struggled defensively and currently rank just 297^th in scoring defense & 290^th in defensive FG%. Western Carolina has also been led by their offense which ranks 146^th in scoring offense & 12^th in three-pointers per game and like Samford, have had issues keeping opponents off the scoreboard and come into this game ranked 332^nd in scoring defense & 278^th in defensive FG%.

Samford has won just 2 of their last 7 games, however, the Bulldogs have looked good over the past week and also have already defeated Western Carolina by an 85-60 margin earlier this season. Samford is the better team and as I think they won again have success offensively against the poor Western Carolina defense, I think the Bulldogs do enough to cover this small road spread. Good Luck!