The Charleston Cougars take on the Hampton Pirates in Hampton, VA. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. ET on FloCollege.
Charleston is favored by 5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -205. The total is set at 140.5 points.
Here’s my Charleston vs. Hampton prediction and college basketball picks for February 26, 2026.
Charleston vs Hampton Prediction
My Pick: Hampton Team Total Under 67.5
My Charleston vs Hampton best bet is on the Pirates to go under their team total. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Charleston vs. Hampton Odds
| Charleston Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-5 -110 | 140.5 -110o / -110u | -205 |
| Hampton Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+5 -110 | 140.5 -110o / -110u | +170 |
- Charleston vs Hampton spread: Charleston -5
- Charleston vs Hampton over/under: 140.5 points
- Charleston vs Hampton moneyline: Charleston -205, Hampton +170
Charleston vs Hampton College Basketball Betting Preview
Charleston Basketball
Charleston can lock up the No. 2 seed, at worst, in the conference tournament with a win in one of its final two remaining contests.
With a win here, the Cougars can really put the pressure on UNC Wilmington, setting up a Sunday showdown at Trask Coliseum to close out the regular season.
Charleston received a boost recently, as Connor Hickman was deemed eligible to return to the team.
With the way the defense is playing of late, this is a dangerous team come CAA Tournament time.
The offense is paced with the scoring of Jlynn Counter, who averages 16 points per game, while Hickman and Christian Reeves put up 11 per game. Mister Dean is the final double-figure scorer, but four others put up at least seven points per contest, and Counter has an eye-popping 157 assists on the season.
Charleston likes to let it fly from deep on occasion, but unlike prior renditions of the Cougars' offense, this team is significantly less potent from deep and has played a more methodical pace as a result.
The defense has been stout the last several weeks, holding opponents to 66 points or less in five of the last six games. The Cougars are the best defensive team in the CAA at defending without fouling and are strong at defending the painted area as well.
Charleston will block or alter more shots than anyone else in the league and is one of the top teams when it comes to defending beyond the arc.
Hampton is a bad shooting team, and I figure this defense will have success in this matchup.
Hampton Basketball
Hampton comes in on a three-game losing streak, as the Pirates have struggled defensively over the last few weeks. The slide started with a disheartening collapse against NC A&T in a neutral-site bout at the NBA HBCU Classic.
The poor play has continued in games against Hofstra and Stony Brook, as Hampton appears headed for a bottom-third finish in league play. Injuries thwarted a promising 2-0 start in league play, but with three games left, Hampton looks to find a little mojo heading into the league tournament.
Michael Eley has returned from an injury that caused him to miss extended time late in the season and scored 17 points against Stony Brook in his first action back. He leads the Pirates in scoring, averaging 13 points per game, while Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt averages 11.7.
Xzavier Long and Daniel Johnson average nine for an offense that's void of a true distributor of the basketball.
Hampton doesn’t have a ton to get excited about on this end of the floor, and it's the worst-rated offensive team in the CAA.
Defensively, the Pirates have been serviceable, but not overly domineering in league play. This group has stepped up at times and defended the arc well, but it's the worst in the CAA and one of the worst in the country at sending its opponents to the foul line.
Hampton can't keep opponents out of the lane and the results have been close looks or foul shots. Only reserve post player Eunique Rink has more than 20 blocks this season, but the Pirates will ramp up the on-ball pressure on occasion and force some turnovers.
Charleston vs. Hampton Betting Analysis
This line opened Charleston -4 with a total set at 139.5. I'm going to pounce on the Hampton team total under when it gets released. I project it to be 67.5.
Hampton can't shoot the basketball, and it's equipped with the least efficient offense in the CAA by a wide margin. We've seen the Pirates play consistently slow all season, and are right down there with Towson and Drexel in terms of pace of play.
Charleston has slowed its operating pace as well, so I think we'll see a favorable possession count to necessitate Hampton not scoring enough points here.
Aside from that, I like how the Cougars have played defensively in recent games. Charleston held a surging Monmouth offense to 63, NC A&T to 61 and fast-paced Campbell to 57 points, with two of those efforts coming on the road.
Hampton has been a feisty out at home this season, but this is a bad matchup for its offense.
The first matchup between these two saw Charleston come away with a 74-70 win, but Hampton had just 45 points halfway through the second half and scored just 26 first-half points. The Pirates didn't shoot well from deep and only managed 14 foul shots in that one.
I'll bet we don't get the barrage of points at the end, and Hampton finishes under its point total in a lower-possession, slow burner.
My Pick: Hampton Team Total Under 67.5 (Play to 66)
