Western Carolina Catamounts vs UNC Wilmington Seahawks Prediction, 11/25/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Western Carolina Catamounts vs UNC Wilmington Seahawks

Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Location: Kimmel Arena in Asheville, NC

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Western Carolina (-4)

The UNC Wilmington Seahawks (10-22 last year) host the Western Carolina Catamounts (19-12 last season) at Kimmel Arena on Wednesday. UNC Wilmington opens this matchup as 4-point underdogs. The over/under opens at 151.5.

The Western Carolina Catamounts faced the East Tennessee State Buccaneers and ended up losing by a score of 97-75 in their last contest last season. Western Carolina finished the game with a 43.4% field goal percentage (23 of 53) and knocked down 7 of 25 shots from downtown. At the free throw line, the Catamounts converted 22 of 31 shots for a rate of 71.0%. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they compiled 23 with 6 of them being offensive. They also doled out 12 assists in this matchup as well as earning 7 steals and 2 rejections. Concerning defense, Western Carolina allowed the other team to go 43.4% from the floor via 23 out of 53. East Tennessee State distributed 15 dimes and 6 steals in the game. On top of that, the Buccaneers pulled down 33 boards (7 offensive, 26 defensive) and earned 2 blocked shots. East Tennessee State ended up shooting 72.4% when shooting free throws by making 21 of 29 tries. They buried 8 of their 18 attempts from downtown. Mason Faulkner is one guy who was a factor for this game. He accumulated 29 points on 7 of 15 shooting. He was on the court for 37 mins played and also grabbed 8 rebounds. Faulkner shot 46.7% from the field and also recorded 7 dimes. An additional guy that was a determining factor in this contest for the Catamounts was Travion McCray. He totaled 2 rebounds and totaled 3 assists. He finished the game shooting 20.0% from the field for the contest by going 1-of-5 (3 points). When the final whistle blew, McCray was on the court for 32 min.

Western Carolina comes into this game after finishing with a win-loss mark of 19-12 last year. They had an average of 78.8 points per contest (18th in D-1) while hitting 46.8% from the field. The Catamounts connected on 36.9% on shots from beyond the arc (302 of 818) and 71.0% from the free throw line. As a group Western Carolina collected 37.6 boards per contest and racked up 449 dimes over the course of last season, which was 83rd in college hoops in terms of passing the rock. They turned the ball over 14.4 times per contest and as a group committed 17.2 personal fouls per game. When they were on the defensive end the Catamounts forced 12.5 turnovers per contest and they drew 19.8 fouls. They were ranked 138th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 377 conceded throughout last year. The Catamounts defense allowed a shooting percentage of 43.4% (828 of 1,906) and they conceded 33.2 rebounds per game as a group. They surrendered 31.1% on three-point shots and they were 300th in the country in opponents points per game (74.7).

In their last game, the UNC Wilmington Seahawks took a defeat with a final score of 66-55 when they faced the Drexel Dragons. The Seahawks were able to pull down 24 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive boards for a total of 32 in this matchup. They stuffed 3 tries while recording 6 steals in this game. The Dragons earned 12 fouls for the contest which took the Seahawks to the free throw line for 8 tries. They were able to knock down 8 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 100.0%. In regard to 3-point shots, UNC Wilmington made 3 of 14 attempts (21.4%). Overall, the Seahawks went 22 for 57 from the field which had them shooting 38.6%. The Seahawks permitted the Dragons to knock down 24 of 57 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 42.1% in this matchup. They went 42.9% from 3-point land by hitting 9 out of 21 and finished the contest at 9 of 12 at the charity stripe (75.0%). Regarding how they attacked the glass, UNC Wilmington allowed Drexel to get 32 in all (7 on the offensive glass). Marten Linssen played a lot for the Seahawks in this game. He converted 8 out of 11 in this game for a field goal percentage of 72.7%, which got him 18 . Linssen snagged 9 rebounds in his 35 minutes and had 2 assists in this matchup. Someone else that was important for UNC Wilmington was Shykeim Phillips. He racked up 8 points in 32 minutes played via 4 of 14 shooting for the contest. Phillips finished going 28.6% from the floor in addition to earning 4 assists and 2 rebounds.

UNC Wilmington had a mark of 10-22 last season. The Seahawks were responsible for committing 17.5 personal fouls every game and they connected on 70.9% from the charity stripe. Their rate of earning assists was at 12.0 times per game (260th in the country) and they lost possession by turning the ball over 13.0 times per contest. UNC Wilmington earned 2,186 pts last year (68.3 per contest) and they averaged 34.0 boards per contest. On the offensive side of the court the Seahawks hit 43.1% from the floor, which was ranked 211th in Division 1. The Seahawks were ranked 245th in D-1 in points allowed per game with 71.7. The UNC Wilmington defense from outside the perimeter surrendered 32.4% on 3-pointers (234 of 723) and their opponents made 68.1% of their foul shots. They were able to force 13.0 TO's per game and let teams shoot 44.3% from the field (259th in D-1). They conceded 12.7 assists and 36.6 rebounds on a nightly basis, which had them ranked 191st and 267th in college basketball.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Western Carolina (-4)

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