Furman Paladins vs Samford Bulldogs Prediction, 3/7/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Furman Paladins vs Samford Bulldogs

Date: Saturday, March 7, 2026

Location: Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, NC

TV: ESPN+

The Furman Paladins (19-12) are headed to Harrah's Cherokee Center on Saturday where they will go up against the Samford Bulldogs (18-13) in the SoCon Tournament.

The Furman Paladins stepped onto the hardwood against Western Carolina and ended up losing by a score of 86-67 in their last contest. Regarding fouls, the Paladins walked away with 18 and Western Carolina recorded 14 fouls. They also converted 9 out of their 23 attempts from beyond the perimeter. Western Carolina ended up going 59.1% at the free throw line by knocking down 13 of their 22 tries. In addition, Western Carolina pulled down 36 rebounds (12 offensive, 24 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Western Carolina doled out 11 assists and had 3 steals in this matchup. When talking about the defense, Furman let their opponent shoot 50.8% from the field on 32 of 63 shooting. They also doled out 10 assists while forcing the other team into 4 turnovers, but didn't notch a steal. Pertaining to pulling down boards, they earned 24 with 4 of them being of the offensive variety. From the charity stripe, the Paladins converted 3 of their 12 attempts for a rate of 25.0%. Furman finished the game having earned a 54.7% field goal percentage (29 of 53) and knocked down 6 out of their 17 shots from beyond the arc.

Cooper Bowser is one player who was a major factor for this game. He finished the game shooting 80.0% from the field and also distributed 1 assist. He was on the hardwood for 31 mins played and totaled 4 rebounds. He totaled 17 points on 8 out of 10 shooting.

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Furman comes into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 19-12 so far this year. They are losing possession via turnover 12.1 times per contest and as a group are committing 14.9 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Furman is pulling down 38.5 boards per contest and has racked up 494 dimes on the year, which is 60th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Paladins are connecting on 31.8% on 3-point shots (272 of 856) and 67.4% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 76.0 pts per game (174th in Division 1) while hitting 47.4% from the floor.

On defense, the Paladins are able to force 9.5 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.1 personal fouls. They are 103rd in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 380 conceded so far this year. The Paladins are giving up a shooting percentage of 41.9% (782 of 1,867) and they relinquish 32.7 rebounds per game as a squad. They are giving up 32.2% on 3-pointers and they are ranked 81st in college hoops in PPG allowed (70.3).

In their last game, the Samford Bulldogs went home victorious with a score of 87-78 when they faced UNC Greensboro. The Bulldogs were able to corral 28 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 36 for the matchup. They coughed up the ball 14 times, while earning 4 steals for the contest. UNC Greensboro earned 10 fouls for this contest which took the Bulldogs to the charity stripe for a total of 10 attempts. They were able to make 7 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 70.0%. When it comes to 3-pointers, Samford made 18 of 35 attempts (51.4%). When the game finished, the Bulldogs ended up shooting 31 out of 62 from the floor which had them sitting at 50.0%. The Bulldogs allowed UNC Greensboro to bury 26 of their 63 attempts from the field which had them at 41.3% in the game. They went 55.0% from 3-point land by connecting on 11 out of 20 and walked away from this one shooting 15 of 22 from the free throw line (68.2%). When discussing attacking the glass, Samford allowed UNC Greensboro to pull down 30 in total (7 offensive).

Jadin Booth was important for the Bulldogs for the game. He racked up 40 points in his 39 mins on the court and tallied 1 assist in the game. He made 13 of 28 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 46.4%, and had 8 rebounds.

Samford has a record of 18-13 on the year. The Bulldogs are committing 16.0 fouls per game while shooting 68.8% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 14.9 times per contest (113th in college hoops) and they cough up possession 9.2 times per game. Samford has totaled 2,444 pts so far this year (78.8 per contest) and they collect 36.5 rebounds per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Bulldogs are shooting 45.3% from the floor, which ranks them 178th in college.

The Samford defense allows 35.4% on shots from behind the 3-point line (238 of 673) and opponents are making 73.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They have relinquished 12.4 dimes and 35.5 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 92nd and 255th in the nation. The Bulldogs are ranked 221st in college in PPG surrendered with 74.9. They are forcing their opponents into 9.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 44.1% from the field (177th in college).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Furman

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