Furman Paladins vs Western Carolina Catamounts Prediction, 2/28/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Furman Paladins vs Western Carolina Catamounts

Date: Saturday, February 28, 2026

Location: Ramsey Center in Cullowhee, NC

TV: ESPN+

Ramsey Center is the site where the Western Carolina Catamounts (13-15) will try to beat the Furman Paladins (19-11) on Saturday.

The Furman Paladins took the court against The Citadel and earned the victory with a final of 72-51 in their last contest. Furman walked away from the game with a 42.9% FG percentage (24 out of 56) and converted 5 out of their 23 3-pointers. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Paladins buried 19 of their 25 attempts for a rate of 76.0%. In terms of getting rebounds, they earned a total of 48 with 19 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 13 assists in this contest while forcing the other team into 7 turnovers and having 4 steals. When talking about defending, Furman allowed the other team to shoot 38.9% from the field on 21 out of 54 shooting. The Citadel earned 13 dimes and had 7 steals for the game. Moreover, The Citadel pulled down 17 rebounds (4 offensive, 13 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. The Citadel finished 25.0% when shooting free throws by knocking down 2 of their 8 tries. They buried 7 of their 28 tries from distance. In the matter of personal fouls, the Paladins finished with 11 while The Citadel finished the game with 19 personal fouls.

Cooper Bowser is a guy who was a contributor for the contest. He was able to score 14 points on 4 out of 6 shooting. He played for 25 minutes played and also grabbed 4 rebounds. He ended up going 66.7% from the field but didn't record an assist.

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Furman will enter this game with a win-loss mark of 19-11 this year. They are giving up possession 12.2 times per game and as a team they commit 14.8 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Furman is pulling in 38.9 boards per contest and is sitting with 484 dimes so far this season, which is 37th in the country in terms of passing the rock. The Paladins are shooting 31.7% on shots from distance (266 of 839) and 68.4% from the free throw line. They average 76.3 points per outing (167th in the country) while going 47.2% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Paladins are forcing 9.7 turnovers every game while drawing 17.2 personal fouls. They are ranked 130th in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 369 surrendered for the season. The Paladins defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 41.6% (750 of 1,804) and they relinquish 32.5 boards per game as a group. They are conceding 32.0% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 74th in D-1 in PPG allowed (69.8).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Western Carolina Catamounts got the win with a final of 78-74 when they faced Mercer. The Catamounts pulled down 21 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards for a total of 28 in this contest. They also gave up possession 10 times, while getting 6 steals in the game. Mercer earned 17 fouls in this matchup which got the Catamounts to the free throw line for 27 attempts. They were able to knock down 25 of the free throws for a percentage of 92.6%. Pertaining to shots from distance, Western Carolina knocked down 5 of their 18 attempts (27.8%). Overall, the Catamounts went 24 for 53 from the field which gave them a percentage of 45.3%. The Catamounts allowed Mercer to knock down 28 of 55 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 50.9% for the game. They finished shooting 16.7% from distance by going 2 of 12 and finished the contest at 16 of 22 from the free throw line (72.7%). Regarding team rebounding, Western Carolina allowed Mercer to get 25 in total (7 offensive).

Cord Stansberry ended up being important for the Catamounts for this contest. He buried 7 out of 11 in the matchup giving him a rate of 63.6%, and accounted for 5 rebounds. He recorded 21 points in his 39 minutes of playing time and accounted for 4 dimes for the matchup.

Western Carolina has a win-loss record of 13-15 so far this year. As an offense, the Catamounts are connecting on 44.7% from the field, which ranks 215th in Division 1. Western Carolina has tallied 2,202 pts on the season (78.6 per game) and they pull down 38.4 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 13.1 times per contest (246th in D-1) and they lose possession via turnover 11.5 times per game. The Catamounts are committing 19.4 fouls per contest and they shoot 71.8% from the charity stripe.

The Catamounts on the defensive end are ranked 298th in college hoops in PPG given up with 78.1. They are able to force 10.9 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 45.9% from the floor (280th in college). The Western Carolina defense gives up 36.2% on shots from behind the 3-point line (253 of 699) and their opponents are connecting on 75.0% of their free throw shots. They have allowed 12.8 assists and 32.8 rebounds per contest, which is 134th and 79th in D-1.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Furman

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