The East Carolina Pirates will take on the North Florida Ospreys at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday at Williams Arena in one of the first Division I games on the schedule for the day. The Pirates have raced out to a 4-0 start and they've covered in each Division I game they've played. North Florida is 0-6 overall and 2-4 against the spread thus far.
The Pirates are favored by 14.5 points in the latest East Carolina vs. North Florida odds from William Hill Sportsbook, up half a point from the opening line. The over-under for total points is set at 145.5. Before finalizing any North Florida vs. East Carolina picks, you'll want to see the college basketball predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past four-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of almost $2,700 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. It's also off to a fast start in the 2020-21 season, going 5-1 on all its top-rated picks and returning over $400. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on ECU vs. North Florida. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball odds for North Florida vs. ECU:
- East Carolina vs. North Florida spread: East Carolina -8
- East Carolina vs. North Florida over-under: 143 points
What you need to know about East Carolina
The Pirates, who play in the AAC, had their opener against Indiana State cancelled, but they're unbeaten in the four games they have been able to play with each win coming by at least nine points. Forward Jayden Gardner is one of the best players in program history and he's again putting up big numbers to start the year. He's averaging 20.3 points and seven rebounds per game while shooting 54.4 percent from the field and 86.4 percent from the free-throw line.
ECU can rely on consistent production from him, but to cover on Thursday it will need to find some secondary scoring as well. Guard Bitumba Baruti (10.0 ppg) is the only other player averaging in double figures this season.
What you need to know about North Florida
The Ospreys don't look good on paper after an 0-6 start, but they are coming off a 2019-20 campaign where they went 21-12 overall and 13-3 in the Atlantic Sun. They've played three ACC teams -- Miami, Florida State and NC State -- on the road thus far, so strength of schedule is an obvious factor in the slow start. They ultimately fell 79-77, but the Ospreys did stay within the spread as seven-point underdogs in their last game against Florida Atlantic.
Forward Carter Hendricksen has provided most of the offense (17.3 ppg) thus far and he's also third on the team in rebounding (5.3 rpg). North Florida is averaging just 33.3 rebounds per game as a team and is hitting 40.4 percent of shots from the field -- both numbers that will likely need to improve to stay within the number on Thursday.
How to make East Carolina vs. North Florida picks
The model has simulated East Carolina vs. North Florida 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning over on the total, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in almost 60 percent of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins North Florida vs. East Carolina? And which side of the spread cashes in almost 60 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the model that has crushed its college basketball picks, and find out.
