South Carolina State Bulldogs vs Chicago State Cougars Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 2

South Carolina State is 2-0 and allowing 62.5 points a game, with a road win already banked. Chicago State is favored at home despite scoring 62.5 points a game itself and allowing 81.5.

The Matchup

Chicago State hosts South Carolina State on Monday evening at the Jones Convocation Center in Chicago, with Chicago State a 5.5-point favorite, a total of 149.5, and the Cougars priced at -230 on the moneyline against South Carolina State at +190. The records point one way and the price points the other: South Carolina State is 2-0, and Chicago State is 1-1 and playing at home for the first time this season.

Start with this season, because both teams have shown you something real. South Carolina State beat Morris 94-55 and then won 78-70 at South Carolina Upstate, allowing 62.5 points a game across the two. Chicago State lost 109-59 at Texas, a game that says more about Texas than about the Cougars, and then won 66-54 at Incarnate Word, a defensive win that showed what this team wants to be. The Cougars have scored 62.5 points a game and allowed 81.5, and that Texas number does most of the damage in the second column.

Last season both teams struggled, and neither gets to pretend otherwise. Chicago State went 7-25, scored 65.8 points a game, and allowed 76.1. South Carolina State went 10-22, scored 67.1 points a game, and allowed 78.8. The difference this fall is that the Bulldogs have carried last season's lessons into two clean wins with a new defensive edge, while Chicago State is still a one-man offense: Mike Price leads the Cougars at 16.5 points and 3.0 assists a game, and Kameron Foman leads them at only 5.0 rebounds a game.

Noah Treadwell leads South Carolina State at 12.5 points a game, Chris Parker leads the Bulldogs at 8.5 rebounds a game, and Mitchell Taylor leads them at 4.5 assists a game. No injuries are listed for either team on the ESPN summary for this game.

Key Factors

Parker against a Chicago State frontcourt whose rebounding leader averages 5.0 a game is a mismatch that shows up possession after possession. Second chances are how a road underdog stays in control of a game like this, and South Carolina State also defends the first shot: 62.5 points allowed a game this season, against a Chicago State team scoring 62.5 a game itself. Something has to give, and the Bulldogs' size is the more repeatable force.

Price is the counterpoint, and Chicago State's whole case runs through him. He leads his team in scoring and assists, the home crowd gets its first look at this team, and South Carolina State's two wins came against Morris and South Carolina Upstate, neither of which prepares a defense for a guard who can create his own shot the way Price can. If Price gets hot early and the Cougars defend the way they did against Incarnate Word, when they allowed 54 points, the favorite can absolutely win this game and cover.

The total of 149.5 is the number that fits neither team. Chicago State scored 65.8 points a game last season and South Carolina State scored 67.1, and both teams are built to win in the sixties and low seventies. A slower game favors the team with the better defense and the better rebounder, and right now that team is the visitor getting points, not the home favorite laying them.

Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.