East Tennessee State vs Western Carolina Prediction 1/14/2026 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The East Tennessee State Buccaneers and the Western Carolina Catamounts meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Ramsey Center in Cullowhee. Here’s an East Tennessee State vs Western Carolina prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best East Tennessee State vs Western Carolina pick. We will examine the recent form and player performances for both teams, as well as the recent betting trends and streaks pertaining to this matchup. As we conclude, we will tie it all together with a summary that produces a sensible pick for a favorable betting outcome in this game.

East Tennessee State Buccaneers Betting Preview

The Buccaneers kicked off their year with a nice opening run, going 6-1 in their first seven games with only a loss to Presbyterian as the blemish. East Tennessee State would skid a bit over the next six games on a 2-4 run, losing to Dayton, Austin Peay, North Carolina and Jacksonville State in that time. The next four games were all wins however, as the Bucs took out the Citadel, Mercer, VMI and UNC Greensboro for a 12-5 opening run across their first 17 outings of the year.

On Saturday in the UNC Greensboro matchup, the Buccaneers entered the second half with a 38-34 edge. East Tennessee State hit a 48-26 run the rest of the way, cruising to the win 86-60 in the end. Blake Barkely posted 24 points with five rebounds to lead the way, and Cam Morris and 13 points with six rebounds and three assists. Brian Taylor added 12 points with five assists and two rebounds as well.

Western Carolina Catamounts Betting Preview

Over on the Western Carolina side, they kicked off the year on a sketchy 4-4 run featuring losses to Cincinnati, Duke, Lipscomb and High Point. The Catamounts would lose four straight versus USC Upstate, Virginia Tech, Georgia and Wofford before getting another win over Furman. The last two games have both been losses as well; the Catamounts have fallen to Samford and the Citadel in that pair for a 5-10 opening run through 15 outings.

In the matchup with the Citadel over the weekend, the Catamounts were looking at a 40-33 halftime edge. Western Carolina lost that lead in the second half and had to go to overtime, where they eventually lost 79-77. Marcus Kell put up 24 points with three rebounds in the losing effort, and Cord Stansberry was right there with him on 23 points and three rebounds.

East Tennessee State Buccaneers @ Western Carolina Catamounts Betting Trends: January 14, 2026

Why the Western Carolina Catamounts will win

• East Tennessee State has lost each of its last four games at Liston B. Ramsey Regional Activity Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• The home team has won 11 of East Tennessee State’s last 13 games.
• East Tennessee State has lost the first half in three of its last four road games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the East Tennessee State Buccaneers will win

• Western Carolina has lost nine of its last 10 night games against the Southern Conference.
• East Tennessee State has won eight of its last nine games against the Southern Conference.
• East Tennessee State has won the first half in four of its last five games.

East Tennessee State vs Western Carolina Prediction

I’ll stick with East Tennessee State. The Buccaneers didn’t have too many issues with a struggling UNC Greensboro team in a road matchup over the weekend, shooting a stellar 59.7 percent from the field with a 54-26 advantage on points in the paint and just eight turnovers. ETSU did get outmuscled on the boards 33-27 however, and only got to the line eight times (making six). Over this current four-game win streak, East Tennessee State has scored 74 or more points in each outing.

As for Western Carolina, they held the Citadel to a tepid 41.4 percent shooting in their latest loss, but got burned by the 38-30 rebounding deficit and the Citadel’s 23-of-28 (82.1 percent) from the line. That makes six losses in the last seven games for the Catamounts, and they’re in for another pretty tricky matchup in this one as well. Good thing it’s at home.

Andrew Jett's Pick: East Tennessee State Buccaneers -7