It may be the slowest week of the sporting calendar, particularly thanks to that Super Bowl hangover, but do not overlook the college basketball odds opportunities gaining steam this spring. In other words, if you have not already gotten onto the South Carolina Gamecocks’ women’s basketball bandwagon, do not wait much longer. There will not be spots open come March.
The Gamecocks should have little trouble today against the Georgia Bulldogs, the latter with a losing record and mired in the cellar of the SEC. But that just means this game can serve as an entry point into what to expect from South Carolina over the next month-plus.
Consider both the long-term and the short-term in our free college basketball picks and predictions as we preview South Carolina vs Georgia on Sunday February 18.
Georgia vs South Carolina best odds
 Georgia |
 South Carolina |
|
|---|---|---|
| +36.5 (-110) | Spread | -36.5 (-110) |
| Over 134.5 (-110) | Total | Under 134.5 (-110) |
Odds courtesy of DraftKings on February 18, 2024.
Georgia vs South Carolina picks and predictions
Why preview a women’s basketball game in mid-February with a spread of 36.5? Because at some point, a flag needs to be planted in the ground suggesting South Carolina will win the women’s basketball national championship this year, which will be the third under head coach Dawn Staley and second in three years.
Now that all of football is over, perhaps that flag will be noticed.
South Carolina’s future price stands at +125 at DraftKings and BetRivers — for today’s context, Georgia is +35000 at BetRivers — a number that may fall to odds-on status before the SEC conference tournament begins in Greenville, S.C. on March 6.
Yes, the conference tournament will be held only a 90-minute drive away from Columbia. If the Gamecocks reach there at 29-0, then the 38-0 talk will begin in earnest.
It already should have. The only remaining regular-season game of worry may be the season finale against Tennessee on March 3, but with South Carolina currently on a 62-game winning streak in front of home fans, the Volunteers’ destiny may already be determined.
The same goes for the Bulldogs today.
Remove games against the SEC’s next two-best teams, LSU and Tennessee, and South Carolina has won its nine other conference games by an average of 29.9 points this season. Look among the conference’s worst, and the Gamecocks have beaten Florida, Missouri, and Kentucky a total of four times by an average of 36.8 points.
Those are the Georgia comparables, hence today’s lofty spread.
Frankly, if this game was on Saturday, some faith could have been put in the Bulldogs to cover +36.5, with South Carolina only two days removed from an 11-point road win at Tennessee with a quasi-letdown possibility. But that extra day between the two games should have settled the Gamecocks enough to seal Georgia’s fate.
It would be a bit over-the-top to make this best bet a South Carolina futures bet, but that is the want. That is the best bet possible in this moment. Take the Gamecocks to win it all.
And take them to rout Georgia this afternoon.
My best bet: South Carolina -36.5 (-114 at FanDuel)
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Georgia vs South Carolina spread and Over/Under analysis
This total of 134.5 will depend entirely on the Gamecocks, and frankly, their defense may be too good to give the offense any chance at reaching this total.
South Carolina beat Kentucky by 62 a month ago, and that game still would have fallen short of this total.
Georgia has scored 50 or fewer points in three conference games already, and math suggests a Bulldogs’ team total today of right about 49. Asking the Gamecocks to approach 90 is not unheard of, but it is a bit beyond reason when pondering this total.
Georgia vs South Carolina betting trend to know
Not only is South Carolina the clear favorite on the futures market, the next lowest odds are significantly higher with LSU at +650 and Iowa at +700. Find more college basketball betting trends for Georgia vs. South Carolina.
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Georgia vs South Carolina game info
| Location: | Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, SC |
| Date: | Sunday, February 18, 2024 |
| Tip-off: | 1:00p.m. ET |
| TV: | ESPN |
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