The Evansville Aces (20-7) will travel to Knapp Center to go head-to-head against the Drake Bulldogs (6-20) in their home finale. The game gets underway at 9:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Feb. 17 and will air on ES3.
The Bulldogs lost to Southern Illinois 75-60 on Saturday. Ore Arogundade had a solid performance for Drake, contributing 11 points, nine rebounds, and two assists. The Aces, meanwhile, are coming off a 74-73 win over Loyola Chicago on Sunday. Egidijus Mockevicius played well, recording 24 points and 16 rebounds to claim his 22nd double-double of the season.
Second-chance points might be scarce for the Bulldogs in this matchup. They rank 300th in the nation in offensive rebounding (OR% of 26.0%), while Evansville is 32nd-best in the nation on the defensive glass (DR% of 74.6%). Moreover, the Aces rank 26th in eFG% at 54.6%, whereas the bottom-tier field-goal defense of the Bulldogs places 298th with opponents connecting at a clip of 52.2%.
This is the second game of the season between these two teams, with the Aces winning the first matchup 84-65. Mockevicius played a big role with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
The Bulldogs come into this game 6-20 Straight Up (SU) and 7-16 Against The Spread (ATS).
On the other side, the Aces head into the game with records of 10-11-1 ATS and 20-7 SU. Evansville has been particularly bad ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 2-8. During the last 10 games, they averaged 64.8 PPG, below their 76.2 PPG season average. The Aces convert their shots at a high percentage, ranking fourth in the country at .502. The Aces rarely make costly errors handling the ball. They have the 42nd-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the country at 1.34. The Evansville defense has allowed an average of 75.2 points per game during the last 10 games, higher than their season average of 67.2.
Evansville won the last meeting this season between these two teams, evening up the two teams’ head-to-head record over their most recent games (5-5). However, with a 7-3 record, Drake has the advantage ATS. Drake and Evansville each held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers once over the last five matchups.
Predictions: SU Winner – Evan, ATS Winner – Evan
Notes
Drake scores an average of just 67.7 points per game (ranked 216th). Evansville ranks 62nd in points allowed, giving up 67.2 points per game.
Drake scores just 73.7 points per home game (ranked 176th). Evansville ranks 63rd in points allowed on the road, giving up 70.8 points.
The Evansville Aces have a defensive rating of 95.9 (ranked 35th), while the Drake Bulldogs have an offensive rating of 102.3 (ranked 244th).
Evansville beats Drake in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Aces average 69.8 possessions and 1.091 points per possession, while the Bulldogs average 66.2 possessions with 1.023 points per possession.
The Evansville Aces average an effective field goal percentage of 54.6% this season. The Drake Bulldogs are a winless 0-11 when opponents have an eFG% of 54.6% or greater.
The Evansville Aces rank sixth in assists per game, making an average of 18.1. The Drake Bulldogs are among the worst in the country with 11.9 assists per game (ranked 272nd).
Evansville, the 65th-ranked team in blocked shots, registers an average of 4.4 per game. Drake does worse, ranked 331st with 1.9.
The Drake Bulldogs make an average of 3.9 steals per game. When the Evansville Aces allow 3 or more steals, they are a solid 20-7.
