The Citadel vs East Tennessee State Prediction 3/7/2026 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The Citadel Bulldogs and the East Tennessee State Buccaneers meet Saturday in SoCon Tournament college basketball action from Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville. Here’s a Citadel vs East Tennessee State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Citadel vs East Tennessee State 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.

The Citadel Bulldogs Betting Preview

The Citadel managed to win just four of their first 18 games this year for a 4-14 start. The Bulldogs won five of the next seven games versus VMI, Furman, VMI, UNC Greensboro and Chattanooga, then lost to Western Carolina, Mercer, Samford, Chattanooga and Furman. After wins over Wofford and Chattanooga in their last pair the Bulldogs are 11-21 overall this year.

On Friday versus Chattanooga in the tournament matchup, the Bulldogs walked off the floor after the first half with a 49-49 tie. The Citadel hit a 39-36 run in the second half and powered out the victory 88-85 to move on. The Bulldogs’ leading scorer was Sola Adebisi with 26 points and seven boards. Keynan Davis added 20 points with two rebounds in the victory effort.

East Tennessee State Buccaneers Betting Preview

Over on the East Tennessee State side, they posted a 12-6 run through their first 18 games this year. The next eight were a 7-1 run with wins over Samford, Chattanooga, the Citadel, Wofford, Furman, VMI and Chattanooga again. It’s been a 2-3 run over the last five though, as East Tennessee State has fallen to Samford, Wofford and Mercer for a 21-10 record this year.

Matched up against Mercer last weekend, the Bucs were in trouble at the break with a 49-35 deficit on the scoreboard. East Tennessee State came back in the second half on a 41-33 advantage but it wasn’t enough to dig out of the hole in an eventual loss on the road 82-76. Blake Barkley was tops on 16 points with nine rebounds and three assists while Brian Taylor added 15 points with two rebounds.

The Citadel vs East Tennessee State Prediction

I’ll likely just lean toward the Buccaneers. East Tennessee State could really use a good performance here, though. Last weekend versus Mercer, the Bucs shot pretty well from the field on 45.2 percent but also gave up 51.1 percent on defense. ETSU got burned by some hot outside shooting by the Bears (11-of-21 for 52.4 percent) as well. The Bucs are just 2-3 in their last five games with 69 or more points surrendered in all of those games.

These teams have met twice this year with ETSU taking the win each time. The first was a 74-49 road win on December 30, then came an 84-55 home victory on January 23. In the most recent win East Tennessee State shot a nice 51 percent from the field with a 33-24 rebounding edge. The Citadel, meanwhile, had just 32.7 percent shooting with 15 turnovers and a 40-18 deficit in the paint. ETSU should certainly have the edge here if they can keep it up.

Andrew Jett's Pick: East Tennessee State Buccaneers TBA