Winthrop vs UNC Asheville 1/13/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The UNC Asheville Bulldogs will travel to Winthrop Coliseum to take on the Winthrop Eagles this Thursday night in College Basketball action.

The UNC Asheville Bulldogs won their 4^th straight game and improved to 10-5 on the season after defeating the Charleston Southern Buccaneers, 82-59, this past Saturday. UNC Asheville was outstanding defensively against Charleston Southern and had no trouble pulling away for the victory after taking a 55-36 lead with 14:44 left in regulation. UNC Asheville shot 46.0% from the field & 36.4% from beyond the arc while allowing Charleston Southern to shoot 42.6% from the field & 16.7% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Bulldogs was Drew Pember who had 24 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assist, 3 blocks, & 1 steal.

On the season, UNC Asheville is averaging 75.9 ppg on 46.0% shooting from the field. The Bulldogs are averaging 9.7 three-pointers per game on 37.5% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, UNC Asheville has been led by Tajion Jones (13.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.1 ag), Drew Pember (11.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.3 apg, 3.7 bpg), LJ Thorpe (11.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.3 apg), & Jamon Battle (8.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.1 apg).

Defensively, UNC Asheville is holding their opponents to an average of 64.5 ppg on 42.1% shooting from the field. The Bulldogs have a rebound margin of -2.0 and a turnover margin of 2.1.

The Winthrop Eagles won their 2^nd straight game and improved to 8-6 on the season after defeating the Campbell Fighting Camels, 74-72, this past Monday night. In a tight, back-and-forth game in the 2^nd half, Wintrhop was able to come away with the victory after Drew Buggs hit a game-winning jumper for the Eagles with just :04 seconds left in regulation. Winthrop shot 50.9% from the field & 39.3% from beyond the arc while allowing Campbell to shoot 50.0% from the field & 41.2% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Eagles was Cory Hightower who had 17 points, 8 rebounds, & 2 assists.

On the season, Winthrop is averaging 77.4 ppg on 47.5% shooting from the field. The Eagles are averaging 9.6 three-pointers per game on 37.8% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Winthrop has been led by D.J. Burns Jr. (16.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.0 apg), Patrick Good (11.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.3 spg), Cory Hightower (11.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.2 spg), & Kelton Talford (8.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg).

Defensively, Winthrop is allowing their opponents to average 73.0 ppg on 44.6% shooting from the field. The Eagles have a rebound margin of 3.1 and a turnover margin of 0.1.

The Bulldogs are 4-0-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS win & 8-1-1 ATS in their last 10 games overall. The Eagles are 3-8 ATS on the season and just 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall.

UNC Asheville has been solid on both ends of the court this season as the Bulldogs come into this game ranked 93^rd in scoring offense, 93^rd in FG%, & 78^th in scoring defense. Winthrop has been led by their offense which comes into this game ranked 66^th in scoring offense & 43^rd in FG%, however, the Eagles have allowed opponents to put some points up against them and currently rank just 279^th in scoring defense & 270^th in defensive FG%.

Winthrop is 6-0 at home and has a solid offense, however, I think this is just way too big of a spread against a UNC Ashville team that has been solid on both ends of the court. I think UNC Asheville is at worst, as talented as Winthrop, and as I think the Bulldogs offense with their solid three-point shooting puts up plenty of points in this one, I think the clear play here is to take UNC Ashville and the points while also putting some small on the moneyline! Good Luck!