East Tennessee State Buccaneers vs Furman Paladins Prediction, 2/18/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: East Tennessee State Buccaneers vs Furman Paladins

Date: Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Location: Timmons Arena in Greenville, SC

TV: ESPN+

The East Tennessee State Buccaneers (19-8) are en route to Timmons Arena on Wednesday where they will take on the Furman Paladins (17-10).

The East Tennessee State Buccaneers took the court against Samford and took a loss by a score of 82-72 in their last game. East Tennessee State walked away from the contest having earned a 41.0% FG percentage (25 of 61) and knocked down 5 out of their 20 3-point shots. At the free throw line, the Buccaneers made 17 of 22 attempts for a rate of 77.3%. In reference to grabbing boards, they earned 34 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 15 assists for this game while creating 9 turnovers and getting 7 steals. With respect to defending, East Tennessee State let their opponent shoot 41.5% from the floor on 22 of 53 shooting. Samford doled out 15 dimes and had 7 steals for this game. Furthermore, Samford pulled down 37 rebounds (7 offensive, 30 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Samford walked away from this one shooting 77.5% from the free throw line by knocking down 31 of their 40 shots. They buried 7 out of their 24 shots from distance. Regarding personal fouls, the Buccaneers ended up walking away with 27 and Samford accounted for 14 personal fouls.

Brian Taylor is a guy who had an impact for this contest. He shot 61.1% from the floor and totaled 2 assists. He was on the hardwood for 44 mins and also collected 2 boards. He totaled 28 points on 11 of 18 shooting.

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East Tennessee State heads into this game with a record of 19-8 this year. They currently have an average of 78.3 points per contest (129th in D-1) while going 48.4% from the floor. The Buccaneers are hitting 33.7% on shots from 3-point land (199 of 591) and 76.5% from the charity stripe. As a team, East Tennessee State is grabbing 34.5 boards per game and has racked up 398 dimes for the year, which is 96th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They turn the ball over 10.1 times per contest and as a team they commit 16.4 personal fouls per game.

When they are on defense, the Buccaneers are forcing 13.4 turnovers per game and they draw 15.2 personal fouls. They give up 32.2% on 3-point shots and they rank 46th in Division 1 in PPG from their opponents (68.1). The Buccaneers defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 41.8% (628 of 1,501) and they surrender 31.9 boards per game as a group. They are ranked 187th in the country in allowing assists with 349 surrendered for the season.

In their last game, the Furman Paladins took home the win by a final score of 90-72 against VMI. The Paladins were able to snag 31 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 39 in the matchup. They also turned it over 12 times, while getting 3 steals for the contest. VMI committed 16 fouls in the game which got the Paladins to the free throw line for 20 tries. They were able to knock down 15 of those for a rate of 75.0%. With regard to shots from distance, Furman converted 13 out of their 38 tries (34.2%). When all was said and done, the Paladins shot 31 for 59 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 52.5%. The Paladins permitted VMI to bury 21 out of their 63 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 33.3% for the contest. They wrapped up this game 30.2% from distance by going 13 out of 43 and walked away from this one shooting 17 out of 20 at the free throw line (85.0%). When it comes to how they rebounded, Furman allowed VMI to collect 29 in total (9 on the offensive side).

Asa Thomas ended up being a factor for the Paladins for this contest. He scored 25 points in his 32 mins of playing time and accumulated 5 assists in this game. He buried 8 out of 16 in this matchup giving him a rate of 50.0%, and had 5 rebounds.

Furman has a record of 17-10 this year. The Paladins are responsible for committing 14.9 fouls per contest and they connect on 67.3% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 16.5 times per contest (50th in the nation) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 12.4 times per contest. Furman has totaled 2,073 points on the season (76.8 per contest) and they pull in 38.7 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Paladins are connecting on 47.6% from the floor, which has them ranked 52nd in D-1.

The Paladins on the defensive end are ranked 88th in college in PPG given up with 70.3. They are able to force 9.9 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 41.5% from the floor (58th in Division 1). The Furman defense allows 31.9% on shots from distance (220 of 690) and their opponents are converting on 72.5% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have surrendered 12.3 dimes and 32.8 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is 92nd and 85th in college hoops.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take East Tennessee State

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