With the college basketball season officially underway, basketball fans are up to their neck in enjoyable games to watch. But on January 22nd and 23rd, there are two games many fans and bettors will have circled on their calendar. A back-to-back matchup between Sun Belt Conference rivals Georgia Southern and South Alabama is on the docket at 7pm ET on the 22nd, and 5pm ET on the 23rd. Both teams have a 7-4 record, so the games are sure to be close.

College basketball games aren’t the same without some action on the match. Luckily for bettors, there are tons of online sportsbook options bettors can choose from. Arguably the best of the bunch is the Sports Interaction app which is host to a huge selection of games, including the upcoming Georgia Southern and South Alabama clashes. But before you lay down some heavy bets on the big games, it is important to know as much as possible about both teams.

Both teams play in the Sun Belt Conference, where they compete against each other in the East divison. With a record of 7-4 so far, both are fighting for a chance to be at the top of their division. These teams have a lot in common beyond their season-long record, as they are both 3-2 in their last 5 games, and both score right around 80 points per game. The two teams played each other back to back on January 1st and 2nd, with each team stealing a win.

The leading scorer on the University of South Alabama is Michael Flowers, who averages 21 points per game, while the leading scorer on Georgia Southern is Eric Boone, who leads a more balanced attack by scoring 12 points per game. Both teams have similar offensive outputs, but the Georgia Southern defense allows almost 5 less points per game than the South Alabama D.

According to the ESPN matchup predictor, South Alabama has a 74.7% chance to win on the 22nd, and a 75.3% chance to win on the 23rd. While perhaps the reason for this big advantage is that both games are to take place at the University of South Alabama, bettors and fans should be aware that these two teams are pretty evenly matched. While South Alabama is a slightly higher scoring team, Georgia Southern pulls down more rebounds, blocks more shots, and gets more steals. 

For bettors, there are still a few games between now and these two teams next matchup to pay attention to. How the teams look coming into the game is a reliable indicator of their performance, so we would advise bettors to hold off a couple days before laying bets down on this one.

COVID couldn’t stop this basketball season, and with the Sun Belt watching, January 22nd and 23rd will be big days for Georgia Southern and South Alabama. Two teams that share a division and the same record will be scratching and clawing to climb the standings, so bettors and fans alike can bank on a close game. You won’t want to miss this back-to-back battle when the Georgia Southern Eagles and the University of South Alabama Jaguars square off.