The Georgia Southern Eagles (20-11, 11-7 SBC) square off against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks (16-14, 10-9 SBC) in the Sun Belt Conference Tourney at Lakefront Arena. The game can be seen on ESPN 3 at 8:30 p.m. ET on Friday, March 9, 2018.
Georgia Southern opened as a 4.5-point favorite, while the Over/Under (O/U) for the game has been set at 140.5 points.
Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks vs. Georgia Southern Eagles Betting Prediction
The Warhawks come in on a high note after dismantling the Arkansas State Red Wolves in their last contest, 76-54. Louisiana-Monroe’s 10.7 turnover percentage was their largest advantage over Arkansas State, who had a rate of 18.7. The Warhawks’ mark was better than their season average of 15.4. Louisiana-Monroe was led by Marvin Jean-Pierre, who was the top scorer from either team with 23 points on 10-for-13 shooting.
In the Eagles’ last matchup, they were victorious over the Troy Trojans, 89-83. Georgia Southern’s free throw rate was their biggest advantage over Troy. The Eagles had a rate of 0.164 (matching their season average), while the Trojans posted a mark of 0.103 (below their season average of 0.255). Tookie Brown was the top scorer from either team with 28 points on 9-for-13 shooting.
The offensive glass should be a huge advantage for Georgia Southern in this matchup. The Eagles are among the nation’s elite on the offensive glass, ranking 75th in offensive rebounding percentage at 32.1 percent. Meanwhile, Louisiana-Monroe ranks 193rd in the nation at corralling defensive rebounds with a defensive rebounding percentage of 71.3 percent.
Louisiana-Monroe holds records of 16-14 straight up (SU) and 11-10-1 against the spread (ATS). Vegas has been spot on when predicting totals of Warhawks games, with an even split between overs and unders.
Georgia Southern has a respectable 20-11 SU record, but they are just 11-14 ATS. Vegas has typically been fairly accurate when predicting totals of Eagles games, with 13 unders compared to 12 overs.
This will be the second game of the season between these two teams. Travis Munnings scored a game-high 26 points in the first matchup, in which the Warhawks, who were 10.5-point underdogs, defeated the Eagles 66-64. He also recorded 20 rebounds. The game finished with a total of 130 points, which was 9.5 points below the projected point total of 139.5 points. Louisiana-Monroe’s 0.455 effective field goal percentage was its biggest strength over Georgia Southern, who had a mark of 0.423.
Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks vs. Georgia Southern Eagles Odds Pick
Prediction: SU Winner – Georgia Southern, ATS Winner – Louisiana-Monroe, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Notes:
Georgia Southern ranks 47th in rebounds per game (38.2) while Louisiana-Monroe ranks 223rd (33.5).
The Eagles rank 83rd in three pointers attempted per game (24.0) while the Warhawks rank 257th in three pointers allowed per game (24.4).
Louisiana-Monroe ranks 113th in assists per game (14.2) while Georgia Southern ranks 278th (10.2).
The Eagles rank 90th in blocks per game (3.7) while the Warhawks rank 240th (1.3).
Georgia Southern is sixth in the nation with 4.3 steals allowed per game while Louisiana-Monroe is 30th with 5.1 steals allowed per game.
Bettings Trends:
In their last five games, Louisiana-Monroe is 2-2-1 ATS with 4 unders and 1 over.
Georgia Southern is 3-2 ATS with 4 overs and 1 under over their last five games.
The Warhawks’ average margin of victory in their last five games has been 4.0, up from 2.3 for the season.
During their last five games, the Eagles have scored an average of 79.8 points per game (3.2 above their season average) and allowed an average of 79.4 points per game (8.9 above their season average).
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