South Alabama vs Georgia Southern Prediction College Basketball Picks 1/4/25

The South Alabama Jaguars and the Georgia Southern Eagles meet Saturday in college basketball action from Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center. Here’s a South Alabama vs Georgia Southern prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best South Alabama vs Georgia Southern pick. We will examine:

The South Alabama Jaguars’ recent form and player performance

The Georgia Southern Eagles’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the South Alabama Jaguars

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Georgia Southern Eagles

Recent betting trends in games played between South Alabama and Georgia Southern

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the South Alabama vs Georgia Southern game

South Alabama Jaguars Betting Preview

The Jaguars lost two of their first three games during a pretty rough start this year. Those losses came versus Central Michigan and Ole Miss. The lone win came courtesy of Nicholls. South Alabama found their footing over the next seven games on a 6-1 run. That loss came versus Western Illinois—by one point. Otherwise, it was wins over Mercer, Spring Hill, Incarnate Word, Alcorn State, Jacksonville State, and East Texas A&M. Following another loss versus TCU, South Alabama rebounded with consecutive wins over James Madison and Mobile.

In their Thursday game versus Georgia State, South Alabama played things pretty close in the first half, heading to the locker room with a modest 33-30 edge. The Jaguars turned it on in the second with a 44-21 run, however, and won 77-51 in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Barry Dunning with 22 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Judah Brown added 15 points off the bench, while JJ Wheat had 13 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals off the bench. Also in double-figures was starter John Broom with 10 points and four rebounds.

Georgia Southern Eagles Betting Preview

Over on the Georgia Southern side, they got off to a pretty nice start this year but haven’t quite had it lately. The Eagles won four of their first five games with a lone loss to UNC Wilmington. Otherwise, it was victories over Northern Illinois, Augusta, North Carolina Central, and Winthrop. Since then Georgia Southern has posted a spotty 3-5 record. The trio of wins came over West Georgia, North Florida, and Gardner-Webb. Otherwise, the losses were courtesy of William & Mary, Drake, VCU, Louisiana Tech, and Texas State for a 7-6 start through the first 13 games.

Matched up against Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday, the Eagles took care of business in the end but had a very rough start. Georgia Southern went into half-time sporting a 46-35 deficit. From there the Eagles surged on a 55-36 run however, eventually winning 90-82. Leading the team in scoring was Bradley Douglas with 30 options, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Nakavieon White added 17 points with five rebounds and five assists, while both Micah Smith (two assists; two rebounds) and Braylhan Thomas (bench) added 10 points each.

Why the Georgia Southern Eagles will win

• South Alabama has lost five of its last six day games against Conference opponents.
• Georgia Southern has won each of its last three home games against Conference opponents.
• South Alabama has lost the first half in five of its last six day games against Conference opponents.

Why the South Alabama Jaguars will win

• South Alabama has won each of its last five day games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Georgia Southern has lost four of its last five day games against Conference opponents.
• Georgia Southern has lost the first half in each of its last three games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

South Alabama vs Georgia Southern Prediction

I’ll stick with South Alabama here. The Jaguars didn’t have a ton of difficulties with Georgia State in their last outing but didn’t quite start out so hot. South Alabama would end up shooting 47 percent from the field with a 34-31 rebounding edge and 23 points off 16 Panthers turnovers, though. That makes 74 or more points in six of the last seven games (all six were wins) for South Alabama. They’ll be in good shape if they can get past that threshold here, but I’d like to see a faster start.

As for Georgia Southern, they had the opposite of a fast start in their last game versus a 4-11 Louisiana-Monroe team. To the Eagles’ credit, however, they’d finish strong and take the victory in the end. Georgia Southern shot a nice 52.5 percent from the field overall with 35 rebounds but did notch 14 turnovers for 26 Warhawks points. Saturday’s game should be a good matchup, but I like the Jags slightly better.