Western Carolina Catamounts vs East Tennessee State Buccaneers Prediction, 1/29/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Western Carolina Catamounts vs East Tennessee State Buccaneers

Date: Thursday, January 29, 2026

Location: Freedom Hall in Johnson City, TN

TV: ESPN+

Freedom Hall is where the East Tennessee State Buccaneers (15-6) will compete against the Western Carolina Catamounts (7-12) on Thursday.

The Western Carolina Catamounts played VMI and went home with a win by a final score of 88-58 in their last contest. When it comes to personal fouls, the Catamounts ended up walking away with 8 and VMI recorded 5 personal fouls. They knocked down 11 of 30 tries from beyond the arc. VMI shot 83.3% at the charity stripe by making 5 of their 6 attempts. On top of that, VMI totaled 18 rebounds (4 offensive, 14 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. VMI doled out 9 assists and had 4 steals in the game. With regard to defense, Western Carolina allowed the other team to shoot 39.6% from the field on 21 of 53 shooting. They also recorded 17 dimes for the contest while forcing the opposition into 7 turnovers and getting 6 steals. In terms of grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 44 with 17 of them being on the offensive end. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Catamounts converted 1 of their 3 shots for a percentage of 33.3%. Western Carolina ended the contest having earned a 51.4% field goal percentage (37 out of 72) and converted 13 of their 32 three-point shots.

Marcus Kell is someone who was important for this contest. He ended up going 53.8% from the floor and recorded 1 assist. He played for 26 minutes and totaled 4 rebounds. He was able to score 18 points on 7 of 13 shooting.

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Western Carolina will take the court with a win-loss mark of 7-12 this season. They currently have an average of 77.7 pts per contest (155th in Division 1) while hitting 44.3% from the floor. The Catamounts are connecting on 32.4% on shots from 3-point land (158 of 488) and 69.1% from the free throw line. As a team, Western Carolina is pulling down 39.9 boards per contest and has earned 256 assists this year, which is 293rd in the nation in terms of passing the rock. They are losing possession via turnover 12.7 times per contest and as a squad they commit 19.6 personal fouls per contest.

On the defensive end of the court, the Catamounts are able to force 11.2 turnovers per game while drawing 15.1 fouls. They give up 37.2% on three-point shots while they are 317th in college hoops in points per game from their opponents (79.8). The Catamounts defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 45.7% (505 of 1,106) and they surrender 33.9 rebounds per game as a squad. They are ranked 125th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 258 surrendered on the campaign.

When they last played, the East Tennessee State Buccaneers got the victory with a final of 84-55 when they faced The Citadel. The Buccaneers were able to corral 31 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive boards for a total of 39 in the game. They turned the ball over 7 times, while getting 8 steals for the contest. The Citadel was called for 14 personal fouls in this game which took the Buccaneers to the charity stripe for a total of 17 tries. They were able to bury 12 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 70.6%. When it comes to 3-point shots, East Tennessee State made 10 of 28 tries (35.7%). Overall, the Buccaneers shot 31 for 55 from the floor which had them shooting 56.4%. The Buccaneers permitted The Citadel to knock down 19 out of 53 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 35.8% in this matchup. They finished 40.7% from three-point range by connecting on 11 of 27 and ended up going 6 of 15 from the charity stripe (40.0%). Concerning how they cleaned up the glass, East Tennessee State allowed The Citadel to collect 21 in total (3 offensive).

Jaylen Smith was important for the Buccaneers in this contest. He recorded 17 points in his 29 mins on the court and accounted for 5 dimes for the matchup. He made 6 out of 11 in this game for a field goal percentage of 54.5%, and accounted for 2 rebounds.

East Tennessee State has a record of 15-6 this year. The Buccaneers have committed 16.0 personal fouls every game and they connect on 74.9% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 14.7 times per contest (151st in D-1) and they are turning it over 10.4 times per contest. East Tennessee State has tallied 1,634 points so far this season (77.8 per game) and they average 34.7 rebounds per contest. As an offensive unit, the Buccaneers are shooting 49.1% from the floor, which ranks 30th in college.

The Buccaneers on defense are ranked 27th in college hoops in points allowed per game with 66.3. They are able to force 13.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 40.6% from the floor (42nd in college hoops). The East Tennessee State defense concedes 32.0% on 3-point attempts (181 of 566) and their opponents are connecting on 71.0% of their free throw shots. They surrender 12.7 dimes and 32.1 rebounds every game, which is ranked 125th and 60th in Division 1.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take East Tennessee State

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