South Carolina State Bulldogs vs North Carolina Central Eagles Prediction, 3/5/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: South Carolina State Bulldogs vs North Carolina Central Eagles

Date: Thursday, March 5, 2026

Location: McDougald-McLendon Arena in Durham, NC

TV: ESPNU

The South Carolina State Bulldogs (8-21) are hitting the road to McDougald-McLendon Arena on Thursday where they will take on the North Carolina Central Eagles (12-16).

The South Carolina State Bulldogs played Delaware State and walked away with a win by a score of 61-59 in their last game. In the matter of personal fouls, the Bulldogs ended up finishing with 15 and Delaware State accounted for 23 personal fouls. They also made 3 out of their 15 tries from distance. Delaware State ended up shooting 83.3% from the free throw line by making 20 of their 24 tries. Moreover, Delaware State grabbed 28 rebounds (10 offensive, 18 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Delaware State distributed 3 assists and had 8 steals for this game. When talking about defending, South Carolina State allowed the other team to shoot 36.0% from the field on 18 out of 50 shooting. They also recorded 9 assists in the matchup as well as forcing 8 turnovers and getting 5 steals. With respect to rebounding, they collected 23 with 4 of them being of the offensive variety. At the free throw line, the Bulldogs made 25 of 29 attempts for a percentage of 86.2%. South Carolina State ended the game having earned a 38.1% FG percentage (16 out of 42) and converted 4 of 11 three-point shots.

Noah Treadwell is a player who was a major contributor for this game. He finished with 18 points on 7 of 12 shooting. He played 34 minutes and collected 1 rebound. He went 58.3% from the field but finished the game without a dime.

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South Carolina State steps onto the court with a win-loss mark of 8-21 this season. They are turning it over 14.7 times per contest and as a team are committing 21.2 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, South Carolina State is pulling in 30.6 boards per contest and has racked up 345 dimes so far this year, which ranks 337th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. The Bulldogs are hitting 33.3% on shots from 3-point land (174 of 523) and 66.7% from the free throw line. They are averaging 66.1 pts per game (349th in college hoops) while connecting on 40.9% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Bulldogs are able to force 13.3 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.4 fouls. They are 289th in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 446 conceded on the season. The Bulldogs defense is allowing a FG percentage of 47.4% (756 of 1,596) and they surrender 34.8 boards per game as a unit. They are conceding 34.6% on shots from distance and they are ranked 319th in the nation in PPG from their opponents (79.2).

When they last stepped on the court, the North Carolina Central Eagles got the victory with a final of 77-73 when they played Maryland Eastern Shore. Concerning attacking the glass, North Carolina Central allowed Maryland Eastern Shore to pull down 41 in all (17 offensive). They went 41.2% from distance by connecting on 7 out of 17 and finished the game at 6 out of 8 from the charity stripe (75.0%). The Eagles permitted Maryland Eastern Shore to bury 30 of 60 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 50.0% in this contest. When this game wrapped up, the Eagles ended up shooting 23 out of 50 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.0%. When discussing shots from downtown, North Carolina Central made 9 out of their 20 tries (45.0%). They were able to knock down 22 of those for a percentage of 75.9%. Maryland Eastern Shore committed 21 fouls for this contest which got the Eagles to the free throw line for a total of 29 tries. They also gave up possession of the ball 10 times, while getting 15 steals in the game. The Eagles were able to pull down 11 defensive boards and 5 offensive rebounds totaling 16 in this matchup.

Gage Lattimore ended up being a major contributor for the Eagles for the game. He accumulated 23 points in his 37 mins on the court and earned 6 assists for the game. He buried 4 of 13 in this contest giving him a rate of 30.8%, and added 3 rebounds.

North Carolina Central has a record of 12-16 for the campaign. The Eagles are committing 17.5 fouls per contest and they go 72.3% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 14.2 times per contest (155th in college) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 12.3 times per game. North Carolina Central has totaled 2,030 pts on the season (72.5 per contest) and they collect 31.3 boards per game. As an offense, the Eagles are hitting on 44.3% from the floor, which is 240th in the nation.

The North Carolina Central defense surrenders 35.9% on 3-point attempts (236 of 658) and opponents are converting on 71.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They give up 15.4 assists and 37.0 rebounds every game, which has them ranked 307th and 319th in college hoops. The Eagles are ranked 245th in college hoops in points allowed per contest with 76.3. They are able to force 15.1 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 46.4% from the floor (305th in D-1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take North Carolina Central

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