Radford vs North Carolina A&T 3/2/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The 9-seed North Carolina A&T Aggies will travel to Bojangles Coliseum to take on the 8-seed Radford Highlanders this Wednesday morning in the 1^st round of the Big South Championship.

The North Carolina A&T Aggies finished their regular season with an overall record of 11-19 and earned the 9-seed in the Big South Tournament after finishing conference play with an 6-10 conference record. North Carolina A&T struggled on both ends of the court this season as the Aggies finished the season ranks just 267^th in scoring offense, 271^st in FG%, & 202^nd in scoring defense. North Carolina A&T finished their non-conference part of their schedule with just a 5-9 record, however, did have a solid win 69-67 win over East Tennessee State. North Carolina A&T started off Big South play with a 4-1 record, however, despite beating the top-seeded Longwood Lancers in early February, the Aggies struggled down the stretch losing 9 of their last 11 games.

On the season, North Carolina A&T is averaging 67.5 ppg on 42.2% shooting from the field. The Aggies are averaging 6.3 three-pointers per game on 30.9% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, North Carolina A&T has been led by Marcus Watson (11.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.3 apg), Demetric Horton (10.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.2 spg), Tyler Maye (8.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg), & Kameron Langley (6.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.7 apg, 1.6 spg).

Defensively, North Carolina A&T is allowing their opponents to average 70.0 ppg on 43.3% shooting from the field. The Aggies have a rebound margin of -0.8 and a turnover margin of 1.7.

The Radford Highlanders finished their regular season with an overall record of 11-7 and earned the 8-seed in the Big South Tournament after finishing conference play with a 7-9 conference record. Radford was led by their defense which ranks t-115^th in scoring defense, however, the offense certainly had their troubles generating points this season as the Highlanders rank just 332^nd in scoring offense, 292^nd in FG%, & 293^rd in 3P-FG%. Radford didn’t make much noise in their non-conference schedule this season as they had just a 4-8 record entering conference play with only two of their wins coming against D-1 opponents (William & Mary; Eastern Kentucky). Radford struggled at the beginning of conference play, however, the Highlanders do come in with some momentum after winning 4 of their last 5 games.

On the season, Radford is averaging 62.9 ppg on 41.7% shooting from the field. The Highlanders are averaging 7.0 three-pointers per game on 31.2% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Radford has been led by Rashun Williams (9.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.0 apg), Josiah Jeffers (9.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.8 spg), Bryan Hart (8.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.0 spg), & Artese Stapleton (6.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.1 spg).

Defensively, Radford is allowing their opponents to average 67.0 ppg on 45.4% shooting from the field. The Highlanders have a rebound margin of 0.5 and a turnover margin of -0.5.

The Aggies are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games vs. a team with a losing straight up record and 13-13-1 ATS overall on the season. The Highlanders are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall & 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400.

North Carolina A&T and Radford split their regular season series as the Aggies won by a 73-72 on the road in early January, while the Highlanders defeated the Aggies by a 62-53 margin on the road this past Saturday.

North Carolina A&T was able to pick up a win at Radford earlier this season, however, this is a team that has really struggled as of late and come into this game with just a 3-13 road record. Radford has been playing some of their best basketball of the season as of late, especially on the defensive end as they are holding their opponents to an average of just 62.1 ppg over their last 8 games. Radford is 8-4 at home this season and as I think they have similar success against North Carolina State as we saw last weekend, I’m taking Radford to cover this small home spread. Good Luck!