Arkansas at South Carolina Lines, Expert Pick & TV Info

Posted by Kenny Bell on Tuesday,February 14, 2017 8:48, EDT in

NCAA Basketball News, Betting Tips, Picks & Previews

No one gave South Carolina a shot to win the SEC title this season, but there the No. 21 Gamecocks are tied for the conference lead with usual powers Kentucky and Florida. While USC doesn’t have to worry about an NCAA Tournament bid, Arkansas is on the bubble and could use a victory over a ranked team. However, USC will be a solid home NCAAB betting favorite.

Arkansas at South Carolina Lines, Expert Pick & TV Info

When: Wednesday, Feb. 15, 6:30 PM ET
Where: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia
TV: SEC Network
Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Arkansas / South Carolina
Opening NCAAB Lines: South Carolina favored by TBA

Why Bet On Arkansas?

The Hogs (18-7, 7-5) won at LSU 78-70 on Saturday. The Razorbacks used their three-point shooting early in the second half to go on a 29-7 run and take a nine-point lead. Seven of Arkansas’ first nine made baskets to start the second half came from behind the arc. After only shooting 37.0 percent from the field in the first half, the Razorbacks shot 53.8 percent in the second frame.

Arkansas improves to 6-2 in its last eight conference road games and extends its win streak over the LSU Tigers (9-15, 1-11) to three straight. The win marks the first victory in Baton Rouge since the 2007-08 season. Dusty Hannahs and Daryl Macon led the Razorbacks with 17 points each. Hannahs went 6-of- 14 from the field and 5-of- 10 from behind the arc, while Macon shot 5-of- 11 from the field and 5-of- 7 from the charity stripe.

Mike Anderson’s 18 SEC road wins in the last five-plus seasons is four more than Arkansas had in the previous 10 years before he took over. The Razorbacks are 8-5 in their last 13 games away from Bud Walton Arena, including a 6-2 mark in the last eight SEC road contests.

Arkansas is the only SEC team to win five straight conference games in three of the last four years. Arkansas has rallied from at least a 12-point deficit in all four of its SEC road wins this season.

The Razorbacks last beat an AP Top 25 team on Jan. 27, 2016, knocking off No. 5 Texas A&M in BWA. With Saturday’s win at LSU, the Razorbacks have road wins over 12 different SEC opponents in the last four years, joining Florida (13) and Kentucky (13) as the only schools to accomplish the feat. Arkansas is only missing a road win at Florida.

The Razorbacks are tied for fourth in the country with 23 games scoring 70-plus points this year. Arkansas has failed to hit the 70-point plateau only twice this season. The Razorbacks are 5-0 in their last five contests decided by one possession, the longest such streak since the 1994-95 season.

Why Bet On South Carolina?

USC (20-5, 10-2) won at Mississippi State 77-73 on Saturday. Senior Sindarius Thornwell led all scorers with 28 points for his 10th 20-plus outing of the season. The Bulldogs took their final lead 64-63, but the Gamecocks responded again after a 3 by senior Duane Notice and a layup by freshman Maik Kotsar with 3:31 to go. A basket by Thornwell put Carolina up 72-64 with 2:52 left, matching the team’s biggest lead of the game.

Thornwell took over and scored the team’s final seven points. Chris Silva (15) and Kotsar (10) joined Thornwell in double figures. After a strong first half from behind the arc, Carolina held the Bulldogs to 25 percent (3-for- 12) shooting from 3 in the second half. The Gamecocks shot 56 percent (15-for- 27) in the second half. South Carolina held Mississippi State’s leading-scorer Quindary Weatherspoon (17.3 ppg) to just three points on 1-of- 5 shooting. Weatherspoon made a free throw with 1:22 left in the game for his first points of the night.

The Gamecocks have now won three consecutive road games in league play. The MSU win was the team’s fifth road win in SEC play this season, marking the most conference road wins since the 1997 squad went 7-1 Carolina has now posted back-to- back 20-win seasons (first time since 2003-04, 04-05, 05-06) and the team’s six road wins this year are the most since 2005-06.

Thornwell was named SEC Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 36.0 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game last week versus Alabama and at Mississippi State. The weekly honor is the third Player of the Week award of his career, and the second this season. Thornwell was named SEC Freshman of the Week three times during his rookie campaign of 2013-14.

Arkansas is looking for its third victory over the Gamecocks in the last four meetings. A win would mark the first time since the 1998-99 and 2000-01 games that Arkansas has won back-to- back games in Columbia. USC leads all time at home 7-5. This is the only scheduled matchup between the teams.