Sports

SoCon Tournament: East Tennessee State vs. Samford odds, picks and predictions

Kevin Erickson

Staff Writer

The East Tennessee State Buccaneers (19-15) and Samford Bulldogs (27-5) meet in the Southern Conference (SoCon) Championship Game Monday at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, N.C. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2). Below, we analyze FanDuel Sportsbook's lines around the East Tennessee State vs. Samford odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.

Seventh-seeded East Tennessee has made an impressive run to the final, topping VMI, UNC Greensboro and Chattanooga, while covering all 3 games. The Over is also 3-0 for the Buccaneers in the SoCon Tourney, and 6-1 across their past 7 games overall. That includes an 87-71 loss at Samford Feb. 24 as the Over (148) connected.

The Bulldogs, who had a bye as the No. 1 seed, ousted Mercer and Furman on their way to the title game, covering both outings -- the O/U went 1-1. The Over is 4-1 in their previous 5 contests, which started with the February win against ETSU.

The Buccaneers are trying to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. They are 2-11 all time in the NCAA Tourney, starting with their first appearance in 1968 -- a 79-69 victory vs. Florida State.

The Bulldogs are looking to get back to the Big Dance for the first time since 2000. They've been to the NCAA Tourney twice, losing 1st-round contests both times.

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East Tennessee State vs. Samford odds

Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 5:15 a.m. ET.

Moneyline (ML): East Tennessee State +480 (bet $100 to win $480) | Samford -690 (bet $690 to win $100)
Against the spread: East Tennessee State +10.5 (+100) | Samford -10.5 (-122)
Over/Under (O/U): 150.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)

East Tennessee State vs. Samford picks and predictions

Prediction

Samford 82, East Tennessee State 74

Moneyline

Samford (-690) will set you back nearly 7 times the potential return. That's obviously way too much risk for not nearly enough reward.

The Bulldogs swept the regular-season series from East Tennessee State (+480), but Samford is just too expensive, even if you were to include it in a multi-team parlay.

AVOID.

Against the spread

EAST TENNESSEE STATE +10.5 (+100) is a strong play catching double digits in this championship game.

The Buccaneers have been on quite the roll in the league tourney. Be cautious, however, and go with a half-unit play at most. While ETSU is 5-0 ATS in the past 5 games, its most recent non-cover was the Feb. 24 loss at Samford -- falling 87-71 as 10.5-point underdogs. As double-digit underdogs, the Bucs are 1-3 ATS this season.

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Over/Under

OVER 150.5 (-115) might be the best play on the board.

The Over cashed in the Feb. 24 game at Samford, and the Over is on a 6-1 run for East Tennessee State.

The total has gone high in 4 of the past 5 games for Samford, too. Play the Over, and feel confidently in doing so.

The windows are open, North Carolina

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