East Tennessee State (14-10) vs Samford (19-5)
February 8, 2025 at 04:00 PM EST
The Line: Betting Odds: East Tennessee State -1 — Over/Under: 148
The Samford Bulldogs and the East Tennessee State Buccaneers meet Saturday in college basketball action from the Freedom Hall Civic Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Samford vs. East Tennessee State prediction.
Samford Recap
The Samford Bulldogs come into this game looking to build on their 100-79 win over Mercer last time out to improve to 19-5 on the year. After this game, Samford will head home for a matchup with Chattanooga.
Bulldogs Win Back-To-Back Games & 8 Of Last 10 Atop SoCon
Trey Fort leads the Bulldogs in scoring with 14.1 PPG along with 3.6 RPG while Jaden Brownell has 13.8 PPG with 4 RPG on the year. Collin Holloway has 10.3 PPG with a team-high 5.4 RPG to lead Samford in rebounding while Rylan Jones has 10.7 PPG with 3 RPG and a team-high 5.5 APG to lead the Bulldogs in the assist department up to this point in the year and to round out the group of double-digit scorers for Samford so far this season. Riley Allenspach also has 7.7 PPG with 2.7 RPG as well this season. As a team, Samford is averaging 83.7 PPG on 47.7% shooting from the field, 37.6% from three, and 72.3% from the foul line this season.
Why the Samford Bulldogs will win
- Samford has won 12 of its last 13 day games.
East Tennessee State Recap
The East Tennessee State Buccaneers come into this game looking to add on to their 62-55 win over VMI last time out to improve to 14-10 on the year. After this game, East Tennessee State will head on the road for a game against Western Carolina.
Buccaneers Win Back-To-Back Games
Quimari Peterson leads East Tennessee State in scoring and assists with 18 PPG and 4 APG along with 4 RPG while Jaden Seymour has 17.6 PPG with 7.3 RPG so far this season. John Buggs III has 11.5 PPG to round out the group of double-digit scorers for East Tennessee State so far this season and Karon Boyd has 8.1 PPG with 7.7 RPG to lead the Buccaneers on the glass this season. As a team, East Tennessee State is averaging 73.3 PPG on 43.4% shooting from the field, 34.5% from behind the arc, and 65.4% from the foul line this season.
Why the East Tennessee State Buccaneers will win
- East Tennessee State has won seven of its last eight home games following a road win.
Total Points Facts
- Each of East Tennessee State’s last nine games against Conference opponents have produced a total of 143 or fewer points.
- Each of Samford’s last four day games against Conference opponents have produced a total of 145 or fewer points.
Samford vs. East Tennessee State Prediction
I’m with Samford here. I know it’s worth looking at the Buccaneers at home here, but the thing is that I still think Samford is the best team in the SoCon this season. East Tennessee’s defense is legit as well but when you look at the offenses side-by-side, I trust Samford to hit their open looks more than I do East Tennessee State and I trust Samford at the foul line more than I trust ETSU as well. Give me the Bulldogs on the road in this one.