It’s been 15 years since Mississippi has gotten such acclaim but the Rebels face a daunting conference opponent Thursday night. In order to continue their momentum, No. 24 Ole Miss will have to overcome the South Carolina basketball odds at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN.
The Gamecocks continue to top the polls and FanDuel Sportsbook has them a 14.5-point favorite on Thursday at home against Mississippi, which is ranked for the first time since 2007. The main question for bettors is whether that spread is too large.
South Carolina basketball odds: Will Ole Miss’ streak end Thursday?
Through 19 games, the Rebels have yet to lose straight up on the road. That includes an impressive upset of then-23rd ranked Kentucky their last time out. At the same time, they’ve yet to face an opponent like the Gamecocks on any court.
The Gamecocks have the nation’s fourth-largest margin of victory and average giving up just 52.2 points per game so far. Although they rank 53rd in the country for average points scored per game, that defense has been strong enough to carry them in nearly every instance.
Fortunately for South Carolina, Mississippi has not been an offensive juggernaut itself. In fact, Ole Miss averages 71.3 ppg compared to the Gamecocks’ 71.8, so there’s good reason to believe that South Carolina’s defense could again be the difference maker Thursday.
Bettors will have to decide for themselves whether that will make 14.5 points of difference. The same goes for the line on FanDuel’s point total for the contest.
Looking at FanDuel’s total and other games on Thursday’s schedule
FanDuel has its point total for the Gamecocks’ contest Thursday at 127.5 points. That’s well below the combined average point totals for these two teams, but don’t overlook the fact that this game is a clash of two of the nation’s top-15 defenses in terms of average points allowed.
South Carolina has only allowed an opponent to reach 70 points in a game once this season, that being their lone loss at Missouri. At home, they’ve held their opponents under 60 points in 11 of 14 games.
The other matchup of top 25 teams for Thursday night is No. 7 Michigan at No. 22 Ohio State at 7 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network. FanDuel has the Buckeyes a 2.5-point favorite with a point total of 146.5 on the game. The rest of the slate for top 25 teams in action for Thursday looks like this with all times Eastern:
- Syracuse at No. 20 Notre Dame -12.5, 6 p.m., ACC Network
- Boston College at No. 14 Georgia Tech -7.5, 7 p.m. ACC Network
- North Carolina -5.5 at No. 21 Duke, 7 p.m., ACC Network
- No. 4 Tennessee -18.5 at Auburn, 8 p.m., SEC Network
- Florida State at No. 5 Louisville -14.5, 8 p.m., ACC Network
- Santa Clara at No. 16 BYU -21.5, 9 p.m.
