College hoops betting interest focuses on the Southern Methodist vs East Carolina battle Saturday at Moody Coliseum as the Mustangs look to defend home court and cover the NCAA basketball point spread.

This season, the Mustangs are 13-13 overall and 13-12 ATS ATS, while the Pirates are 15-10 and 10-6-2 ATS against the number. As for the totals, Southern Methodist boasts a 6-10-1 on the OU, and East Carolina is 11-4.



View East Carolina vs Southern Methodist Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
On the Sportsbook NCAA basketball line for this matchup, Southern Methodist sat as 3.5-point favorites over at Sportsbook. Also, check out the current total, which often goes up first at online sportsbook Sportsbook.

Power Rankings / Prediction:
According to new college basketball power rankings here, it's the No. 167-ranked Mustangs and the No. 68-rated Pirates in this matchup. Computer formulas aimed at predicting NCAAB scores point to a 74-71 win for the Pirates on Saturday.



How They Match Up:
Rebounding is always a key handicapping consideration and Pirates is ranked No. 66 in NCAA hoops at 37.3 per game. Contrast that with Southern Methodist’s No. 222 mark in the paint. When it comes to three-point shooting, Southern Methodist is the No. 340-ranked team in the country at 3.9 per game, while East Carolina rates No. 52 at 7.5 per game.

Defensively, East Carolina features the nation's No. 289-rated defense on the road, allowing 74.8 points per game. Southern Methodist, meanwhile, comes in at No. 265 nationally in scoring at home.

East Carolina won its last outing, a 72-63 result against Tulsa on February 20. They covered in that game as a 3.5-point underdog. East Carolina got 23 points from Maurice Kemp en route to a 72-63 victory over Tulsa on Wednesday at Reynolds Center.

Southern Methodist lost its last outing, a 78-67 result against Tulane on February 16. They failed to cover in that game as a 5.5-point underdog. Southern Methodist got 16 points from Shawn Williams but lost anyway, 78-67, to Tulane on Saturday at Fogelman Arena.


East Carolina Pirates Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 5-5
Before playing Southern Miss are 6-4
After playing Tulsa are 1-6
After a win are 1-9

Southern Methodist Mustangs Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 4-6
Before playing Rice are 3-7
After playing Tulane are 3-7
After a loss are 4-6

A few Pirates at Mustangs trends to consider:
East Carolina is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Southern Methodist's last 6 games when playing East Carolina
Southern Methodist is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games
Southern Methodist is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing East Carolina
Southern Methodist is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games at home


Next up:
East Carolina at Southern Miss, Saturday, March 2
Southern Methodist home to Rice, Wednesday, February 27