The Florida Atlantic Owls (7-23) will have their chance to beat the Conference USA’s best team when they take on the UAB Blazers (25-5) at FAU Arena. The game begins at 12:00 pm ET on Saturday, Mar. 5.
The Owls lost to Middle Tennessee 76-59 on Thursday. Adonis Filer was the team’s high scorer, putting up 16 points. The Blazers, meanwhile, are coming off a 77-60 win against FIU on Thursday. William Lee had a good game for UAB, posting 14 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Blazers won the first game 104-67. Marquan Botley had a standout performance with 16 points, one rebound, five assists, one steal, and one three-pointer in the loss.
The Owls have gone 7-23 Straight Up (SU) and 10-16-2 Against The Spread (ATS). Florida Atlantic has been on fire lately, averaging 79.7 points per game, well over their season average of 66.4. Crossing over to the defensive side of the court, teams really have to fight for three-pointers against the Owls, who have allowed only 5.0 three-pointers to opponents per game.
As for their opponent, the Blazers have 25-5 SU and 14-12 ATS records. UAB has not performed well ATS during its last 10 games, earning a 3-7 record. The Blazers rank 39th in the country in scoring, averaging 79.2 points per game. UAB is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation, hitting .381 of their shots from three-point range. The Blazers are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking 24th in Division I at 1.46. The Blazers average 68.9 points allowed per game, but have damaged those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 81.3 points per game during that span. Teams seem to consistently miss shots against the Blazers, who are the 48th-best team in the nation in terms of opponent field goal percentage allowed at .409. When it comes to defending the rim, the Blazers are one of the best in the nation with an average of 6.3 blocks per game.
In their previous meeting this season, UAB beat Florida Atlantic, moving its SU record against the Owls to 3-2. With a 3-2 record, the Blazers also have the advantage ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – UAB, ATS Winner – UAB
Notes
“Florida Atlantic is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games “.
“Florida Atlantic is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games “.
“The total has gone OVER in 8 of Florida Atlantic’s last 11 games “.
“Florida Atlantic is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games at home”.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Florida Atlantic’s last 6 games at home”.
Florida Atlantic scores an average of just 66.4 points per game (ranked 237th). UAB ranks 92nd in points allowed, giving up 68.9 points per game.
Florida Atlantic scores just 67.4 points per home game (ranked 240th). UAB ranks 64th in points allowed on the road, giving up 70.6 points.
The UAB Blazers have a defensive rating of 98.9 (ranked 57th), while the Florida Atlantic Owls have an offensive rating of 97.2 (ranked 316th).
UAB beats Florida Atlantic in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Blazers average 69.6 possessions and 1.139 points per possession, while the Owls average 68.3 possessions with .972 points per possession.
UAB has an average effective field goal percentage of 54.9% (ranked 23rd in the nation). Florida Atlantic is an abysmal 1-7 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, Florida Atlantic attempts 20.0 three pointers and UAB attempts 19.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Florida Atlantic Owls have a 3-14 record while the UAB Blazers have a superb 13-4 record.
The UAB Blazers rank 24th with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.46, while the Florida Atlantic Owls rank outside the top 100 at 211th with an A/TO of .99.
UAB, the 62nd-ranked team in rebounding, registers an average of 38.7 rebounds per game. Florida Atlantic does worse, ranked 323rd with 32.1.
The Florida Atlantic Owls make an average of 5.4 steals per game. When the UAB Blazers allow 5 or more steals, they are an exceptional 19-5.
