The Idaho Vandals play the Seattle Redhawks in the first round of the CBI tournament at KeyArena. Action gets underway at 10:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Mar. 16.
The Redhawks were blown out by Cal State Bakersfield 72-47 in the 2 of the Western Athletic tournament. Jadon Cohee was the team’s leading scorer, putting up 10. The Vandals, meanwhile, are coming off an 80-70 win over Idaho State in their last game. Victor Sanders shot 9-for-20 and led in scoring with 25 points.
The ineffective offense of Seattle (315th in the nation with an offensive efficiency of 97.1) will square off against the top-notch defense of Idaho (21st in the nation with a defensive efficiency of 97.5). The Vandals figure to have the advantage on that end of the court.
The Redhawks look to improve upon their records of 15-16 Straight Up (SU) and 8-11 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 7-3 ATS over their last 10 games. The Redhawks have really locked down opponents on the defensive end, ranking 21st in the country with a .408 opponent field-goal percentage. Idaho has a habit of getting in foul trouble (21.6 fouls per game), so expect the Redhawks to get a number of opportunities from the free throw line.
On the other side, Idaho has a SU record of 21-12 and an ATS record of 17-12. The Idaho defense has been a problem for competitors, allowing only .411 shooting from the field to its opponents.
Seattle won the last meeting this season between these two teams, but Idaho still leads the head-to-head record over their most recent games, 7-3 SU. The teams are even ATS, with a 1-1 record. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, Seattle held the edge in all three of these categories twice in the last five meetings. Idaho never did so in those games.
Predictions: SU Winner – Idaho, ATS Winner – Idaho
Notes
“Seattle is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Idaho”.
“Seattle is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home”.
“Seattle is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games “.
“Idaho is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games “.
In its last game, Seattle lost by a margin of 25 points. Idaho is 4-2 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Seattle has a 2-4 record in blowouts.
The Seattle Redhawks have a defensive rating of 100.1 (ranked 41st), while the Idaho Vandals have an offensive rating of 103.5 (ranked 220th).
Idaho has an average field goal percentage of 43.9%. Seattle is a subpar 3-8 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Seattle Redhawks rank higher based on their field goal percentage (248th) than their effective field goal percentage (256th). The Idaho Vandals rank higher based on their effective field goal percentage (186th) than their field goal percentage (191st).
Idaho, the 91st-ranked team in rebounding, registers an average of 37.8 rebounds per game. Seattle does worse, ranked 140th with 36.7.
Though Seattle is one of the best in the country in forcing turnovers with opponents averaging a TO% of 19.5% (ranked 25th), Idaho has a solid 16-8 record SU when its TO% is 19.5% or greater.
