CAA Conference Championship Picks, Predictions, Odds

Another ticket will be punched to the NCAA Tournament when the UNC Wilmington Seahawks face the Charleston Cougars in the CAA Conference Championship Game on Tuesday night.

UNC Wilmington upset the apple cart when the Seahawks knocked off the Hofstra Pride in overtime on Monday night, as Hofstra was the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament after going 16-2 in conference play. Charleston will be favored by the college basketball betting odds as the Cougars are now 30-3, but UNC Wilmington is a live dog.

The CAA Championship Game will be played on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at 7 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network. The UNC Wilmington Seahawks and the Charleston Cougars will meet at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, DC.

CAA Conference Championship Betting Prediction

There were hopes that the College of Charleston Cougars could earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, but those have dissipated over the last couple weeks. Even though Charleston has won 30 games, the Cougars don't rank inside the top 50 in NET, and they are 47th in RPI. It looks as if Charleston will have to beat UNC Wilmington in order to make it into March Madness, so there is no margin for error.

Charleston has won both of its meetings with UNC Wilmington this season, but while one of those wins was by 32 points, the other win was by just two points. That gives the Seahawks some hope, but the Cougars will emerge victorious and go dancing.

Best Bet: Charleston -7
Score Prediction: Charleston 75, UNC Wilmington 64

UNC Wilmington Seahawks vs. Charleston Cougars Betting Odds

UNC Wilmington Seahawks vs. Charleston Cougars Betting Resources

Date: Tuesday, Mar. 7, 2023
TV-Time: CBSSN, 7:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Entertainment and Sports Arena
Location: Washington, DC
Matchup
Expert Picks

CAA Tournament Odds

UNC Wilmington Seahawks vs. Charleston Cougars Betting Stats

UNC Wilmington Seahawks
SU: 24-9
ATS: 16-13-2
O/U: 15-15-1
PPG: 68.8
OPPG: 64.0

Charleston Cougars
SU: 30-3
ATS: 19-12-1
O/U: 13-18-1
PPG: 81.7
OPPG: 68.0

Straight Up (SU), Against the Spread (ATS), Over-Under (O/U)
Points Per Game (PPG), Opponents Points Per Game (OPPG)

Charleston Cougars Betting Analysis

The Charleston Cougars take a lot of threes, but they only make 33.6% of their shots from distance. Only one of the players that has shot over 75 threes this season is shooting at a solid clip, and that's Ben Burnham who is nailing 44.7% of his treys. However, the Cougars do a great job of chasing down rebounds, and they rank 15th in offensive rebounding percentage as a result. Ante Brzovic is the best rebounder on the roster as he is pulling down 5.7 RPG while playing just 18.2 MPG.

That's the exception and not the rule for this team. Pat Kelsey loves to make constant substitutions, and no Cougar is playing more than 28 MPG. Instead, nine players are averaging at least 15 MPG as Kelsey constantly tinkers with this lineup in order to get good matchups. That also has led to six players averaging between 9.4 PPG and 12.7 PPG. Dalton Bolon is the leading scorer but not by much over the rest of his teammates.

Charleston's real strength lies in its swarming defense. The Cougars are ranked 70th in effective field goal percentage on defense, and opponents are making just 30.5% of their threes against this team. They do a good job of keeping teams off the glass, and Jaylon Scott has proven to be an elite defender. The Cougars do a good job of playing physical defense too while keeping a positive free throw disparity.

UNC Wilmington Seahawks Betting Preview

The UNC Wilmington Seahawks were blown out by 24 points in their previous meeting with Hofstra this season, but they outdueled the Pride to make the CAA Championship Game. UNC Wilmington has just two wins over Top 100 teams this season (Hofstra and North Texas), yet this is one of the luckiest teams in the nation according to Ken Pomeroy. The Seahawks are 24-9 even though they rank 257th in effective field goal percentage on offense.

Trazarien White is the leading scorer for UNC Wilmington. White is averaging 13.9 PPG, and he also leads the team with 5.8 RPG although he is just 6'6 and 190 pounds. He is able to get good shots in the paint and low post, but if you can force him to the perimeter he really struggles as he is making a scant 27.1% of his three-point attempts on the season.

Maleeck Harden-Hayes is making 39% of his threes, and Donovan Newby is hitting 37.4% of his shots from downtown on the season. They are two of UNC Wilmington's four leading scorers, and they can stretch defenses. The best part of this offense though is its ability to draw fouls and get to the free throw line. Six different players have shot at least 70 free throws on the season, and Harden-Hayes is one of the most effective free throw shooters in the country at 90.3% from the line. Newby and Shykeim Phillips are both making at least 83.5% of their free throws too.