East Carolina vs South Florida Prediction College Basketball Picks 3/15/24

East Carolina Pirates (18-14) vs South Florida Bulls (16-17)

Game Info: Friday, March 15, 2024 at 1:00 pm (Dickies Arena)

Betting Odds: South Florida Bulls -6.5 -- Over/Under: Click Here for the Latest Odds

Where to Watch: ESPN2

The East Carolina Pirates and the South Florida Bulls meet Friday in AAC Tournament college basketball action from Dickies Arena. Let’s get into our East Carolina vs USF prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Pick Dawgz.

East Carolina Pirates

The Pirates have had a pretty choppy season so far. East Carolina’s last win streak came in mid-February with victories over UTSA, Wichita State and Tulane. The regular season ended with losses to Rice, Memphis, North Texas, SMU and Charlotte before a Thursday victory versus Tulsa.

On Thursday versus Tulsa, East Carolina had a 41-36 lead going into the second half. The Pirates were able to keep the pace from there on a 43-43 run and took the victory 84-79. Leading the way was Ezra Ausar with a double-double on 28 points and 10 rebounds.

USF Bulls

Over on the South Florida side, they were a tepid 8-5 in early January following a loss to UAB. South Florida would then catch fire with a 15-game win streak that stretched fro January 12 to March 5. The run came to an end in the last game of the regular season versus Tulsa, though.

Back on Saturday versus Tulsa, the Bulls were ahead 37-31 going into the second half. South Florida was outscored 45-33 from there however and ended up falling 76-70. Kasean Pryor was the top team scorer with 29 points, 11 rebounds, one assist and one steal in 31 minutes.

ANDREW’S FREE EASTERN CAROLINA VS USF PREDICTION

I’ll lean toward South Florida here. The Bulls had a down game versus Tulsa in their last outing, shooting just 36.8 percent from the field, 17.4 percent (4-of-23) from 3-point range and 70.6 percent from the line. Additionally, USF was out-rebounded 41-38 and coughed up 12 turnovers. That said, it’s still been a nice scoring run for the Bulls with 69 or more points in eight of their last nine.

Back on January 31 when these teams last met, the Bulls posted a 71-60 victory on the road. South Florida shot very well in that one (50.9 percent) and had 36 rebounds. There were some blemishes however, specifically the 7-of-13 from the line (53.8 percent) and the 17 turnovers. Provided South Florida can keep the mistakes in check this time I think they’ll be just fine in the tournament rematch.