Furman (9-1) vs South Carolina State (5-6)
December 14, 2024 at 12:00 PM EST
The Line: Betting Odds: Furman -13.5 / South Carolina State +13.5 — Over/Under: 144.5
The South Carolina State Bulldogs and the Furman Paladins meet Saturday in college basketball action from Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Here’s a South Carolina State vs Furman prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best South Carolina State vs Furman pick. We will examine:
The South Carolina State Bulldogs’ recent form and player performance
The Furman Paladins’ recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the South Carolina State Bulldogs
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Furman Paladins
Recent betting trends in games played between South Carolina State and Furman
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the South Carolina State vs Furman game
South Carolina State Bulldogs Betting Preview
The Bulldogs managed a 4-3 start this year, taking out Morris College, Voorhees, Alabama A&M, and IUPUI along the way. South Carolina State would fall to Marshall, Xavier, and Samford in the next three before a win over Charleston Southern.
Back on Monday against the Buccaneers, South Carolina State held a 14-point edge going into the second half. The Bulldogs scored another 40 points from there in an 82-63 win. Drayton Jones led the team with 34 points with eight rebounds.
Furman Paladins Betting Preview
Over on the Furman side, they beat Columbia International, Belmont, Jacksonville, Tulane, Oglethorpe, Charleston Southern, and Seattle to start the year. After a loss to Kansas, the Paladins would beat FGCU and Princeton.
In the Princeton game last weekend, the Paladins jumped out to a 37-29 halftime edge. Furman finished with 32 more points in a 69-63 victory. Leading the scoring was PJay Smith with 23 points and eight rebounds.
Why the Furman Paladins will win
- Furman has won each of its last seven games at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
- South Carolina State has lost six of its last seven road games against the Southern Conference.
- South Carolina State has lost the first half in four of its last five games against non-conference opponents.
South Carolina State vs Furman Prediction
I’ll take a stab at South Carolina State. I’m probably not touching this one, though. The Bulldogs got a lot of minutes for several guys down the bench in their latest win over Charleston Southern, but there wasn’t much diversity scoring-wise. Jones (34 points) was the only one in double-figures. The Bulldogs shot an abysmal 2-of-20 (10 percent) from outside as well. That said, South Carolina State has been competitive in their last couple of losses, falling to Xavier and Samford by a combined 10 points.
As for Furman, they missed seven of their 16 free throws (56.3 percent) and had 14 turnovers in their latest effort against a pretty good Princeton team but everything worked out. The Paladins have stayed below 70 points in four of the last five games (a 4-1 run), so scoring could be at a premium here. I like SC State to eke out a cover in an interesting matchup.