College of Charleston Cougars vs Louisville Cardinals Point Spread Picks

Charleston knocked off Baylor who was ranked in the top 25 at the time. It was a very impressive road win for the Cougars. They did it by holding the Bears to just 59 points. On the season, Charleston has held more than half of their opponents in the 50s. This is Louisville's first true road game of the season and I expect their offense to struggle here vs. a pumped up Charleston team. In the second half, Louisville's talent will win out as Charleston tires, but in the first half I expect a fight. Charleston must do this on defense as they are averaging just 63 points per game on offense. So expect a lot of early intensity from their defense. Over the past two seasons, Louisville is 12-3 UNDER in the first-half when facing good defensive teams like Charleston (teams allowing 64 or fewer points per game). Over that same span, the Cardinals are 11-3 UNDER to a first-half total set below 61. In the Pitino era here, this team is 27-15 UNDER in the first half when the total is set this low. The first-half UNDER is the play.