UNC Wilmington vs. William & Mary Best Bet & Prediction for Thursday, Feb. 22

The UNC Wilmington Seahawks (19-7) hope to bounce back from a one-point loss to Elon as they take on the William & Mary Tribe (8-19) at 7:00 PM EST Thursday night.

This is a pivotal matchup for the Seahawks, who sit just one game behind Charleston in the Colonial Athletic standings while the Tribe are a miserable 3-11 in conference play.

UNC Wilmington won three of the last four matchups between these teams, but only one of those wins came by double-digits. Can they cover the huge spread tonight? Here's a look at the odds before we find out:

UNC Wilmington vs. William & Mary Odds, Spread and Total

UNC Wilmington vs. William & Mary Best Bet and Prediction

Unlike in past years, UNC Wilmington has done a nice job beating up on the bad teams in the conference, winning three of their last four by double-digits. Wiliam & Mary, however, is 6-2 against the spread (ATS) over the previous eight despite winning just one of those games, so they're keeping things close.

However, the Tribe are just 1-4 ATS in their last five as home underdogs. With their offense in a rut, I see a path to the Seahawks covering the 10.5-point spread after the narrow loss to Elon.

Led by Trazarien White and his 19.5 points per game, UNC Wilmington should punish William & Mary inside. The Tribe rank 295th nationally in opponent two-point field goal percentage (53.2%) and 245th in opponent free throw rate (35.1%), meaning they often either let you score or send you to the free-throw line.

The Seahawks averaged just under 79 points per game in their last six. Five rotational players shoot above 81% from the free throw line, so they'll convert on the opportunities the Tribe provide. UNC Wilmington is third nationally in turnover rate (12.9%) thanks to a veteran group that protects the ball well. If the Tribe can't score in transition, they're in trouble.

William & Mary shoots three-pointers at the 16th-highest clip in the country (47.1%) but ranks 295th in three-point percentage (31.2%). Unless they have a flaming-hot shooting night, UNC Wilmington should pull away thanks to their advantage at the charity stripe.

The Tribe shot below 25% from three for three straight games and I see their struggles continuing tonight. Take the Seahawks to cover the double-digit spread.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.