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There are two college basketball games Thursday, the last two of the season outside the NCAA Tournament. There’s the NIT final from New York and also the championship game of the inaugural Basketball Classic as Fresno State visits Coastal Carolina with the Bulldogs favored on the NCAAB odds.

How to Bet Fresno State at Coastal Carolina NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info

When: Thursday, 7 PM ET
Where: The HTC Center, Conway, SC
TV: None national
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: Tunein.com
Opening NCAAB Lines: Fresno State -3 (total 126.5)

Series History

This is the first-ever meeting between Fresno State and Coastal Carolina.

Why Bet on Fresno State?

Fresno State (22-13), from the Mountain West, advanced with a 67-48 home blowout of Southern Utah on Monday. FSU never trailed in the near wire-to-wire victory over the T-Birds, which featured the Bulldogs’ stout defense limiting SUU to a season-low 31.1 percent from the field. Orlando Robinson scored a game-high 20 points on 9-for-15 shooting with seven rebounds and three assists for Fresno State.

After FSU scored the first six points of the game, SUU then scored the next six to even the score at 6-6. The Bulldogs used a 14-0 run to build a 20-6 lead and led the rest of the way. Robinson scored in double figures for the 32nd time this season, and the 68th time in his career. Robinson scored 20+ points for the 17th time this season, and the 25th time in his career.

With 1,395 career points, Robinson (19.4 ppg/8.1 rpg) enters the game in 16th on the Bulldogs’ all-time scoring list and needs just six points to tie Gary Alcorn for 15th (1,401). Robinson is also seven points away from tying Rod Higgins for 14th (1,402), 12 points from tying for 13th and 13 points from tying for 12th.

Fresno State made 50.0 percent of its field goal attempts and shot 52.4 percent from behind the three-point line. FSU had 10+ made three-pointers for the seventh time this season. With the win, Fresno State improved to 23-18 all-time in postseason play in its Division I era (since the 1970-71 season).

FSU will play in its third postseason championship game 1983 – NIT & 2014 – CBI) and seeking its second national postseason tournament title.

Fresno State is second in the MW and ranks fourth in the nation in scoring defense (59.0 ppg allowed). Fresno State limited its opponents to fewer than 70 points in 31 of its 35 games during the 2021-22 season. Fresno State limited five of its opponents to 43 points or less during the regular season.

Fresno State has won 34 consecutive games when holding an opponent to fewer than 50 points, with the last loss coming back when the ‘Dogs were edged 49-48 at San Jose State on Feb. 23, 1987.

Why Bet on Coastal Carolina?

Coastal Carolina (19-13), of the Sun Belt, won a thriller at South Alabama 69-68 on Monday to advance. With 1:21 left in the game and CCU trailing 58-54, Wilfried Likayi hit his only three-point field goal to cut the USA lead to one at 58-57. After another USA field goal made it 60-57 with just 50 seconds left in regulation, the Chants got the benefit of a missed free throw with 22 seconds left. From there the Chants worked the ball to Vince Cole who hit a three with 10 seconds left to send the game into overtime with the score even at 60.

Rudi Williams hit his only three-point field goal with one second left in overtime. Williams finished with a team-high 17 points, going 8-of-10 from the field overall for the game. Joining Williams in double-digits were Cole with 16 and Essam Mostafa with 12, while Ebrima Dibba just missed out on a double-double, finishing the game with eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds. The Chants finished the game shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 37.5 percent on their three-point field goal attempts.

The Chants’ play during the Classic has mirrored the regular season as the top four players have also led CCU in postseason play. Williams has shot 52 percent from the field and 50 percent on his three-point field goals on his way to averaging 21.0 points per game. He also has averaged 4.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.0 steals over the two games.

Cole has not shot the ball as well as he did in the regular season, but he has still averaged 15.0 points per game. Mostafa’s 9.6 rebounds per game average this season is tied for the third-best single season average in the CCU history books. He is tied with Joseph Harris (2009-10). After averaging 8.9 rebounds per game as a freshman, his 9.6 rebounds per game average this year has given him a 9.3 career rebounding average. That is the top rebounding average in CCU history. Forrest Junck (1979-80) was the previous holder, averaging 9.2 per game.

Dibba continues his climb up the career-assist ladder and has moved into third place all-time with 467 career assists. He is just 14 away from moving into second.