It will be a battle between Metro Atlantic Athletic opponents when the Quinnipiac Bobcats (8-15) welcome the Fairfield Stags (13-11) to TD Bank Sports Center. The game gets underway at 2:00 pm ET on Saturday, Feb. 13.
The Bobcats lost to Manhattan 84-77 on Thursday. Daniel Harris finished with 16 points to lead the team. The Stags are coming off an 80-70 win over that same Manhattan squad on Sunday. Curtis Cobb led the team in scoring with 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting.
The Bobcats could own the offensive glass in this matchup, as they rank seventh in the nation in OR% at 39.6%. Conversely, Fairfield places 296th in the nation on the defensive backboards with a DR% of 67.7%.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Bobcats won the first game 64-59. Giovanni McLean was a top performer in the victory with 25 points, two rebounds, one assist, and five three-pointers.
The Bobcats enter the game with records of 8-15 Straight Up (SU) and 6-12 Against The Spread (ATS). Quinnipiac has averaged 76.3 points per game over the last 10 games, higher than its season average of 65.9. Quinnipiac has an edge in the rebounding department for this game, where they rack up a Division I-best 44.3 rebounds per game. The Bobcats will be looking to pick it up in this one after recent defensive struggles. The Bobcats have given up an average of 76.4 points to opponents in their last 10 games, well over their defense’s season average of 70.4 PPG. Teams really have to fight for open three-pointers against the Bobcats, who have one of the best opponent three-point field goal percentages in the nation at .303.
Across the court, the Stags head into the game with records of 9-10 ATS and 13-11 SU. During the last 10 games, they averaged 63.6 PPG, below their 78.5 PPG season average. Defenses have a tough time accounting for every player when up against the Stags, who are known for distributing the ball with 16.0 assists per game. The Fairfield defense has allowed an average of 68.8 points per game during the last 10 games, lower than their season average of 79.7.
Quinnipiac won the last meeting this season between these two teams, moving its SU record against Fairfield to 4-2 in their most recent head-to-head meetings. The Stags hold the advantage ATS with a record of 3-2. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers, neither team was able to hold the advantage in all three of these categories over their past five meetings against one another.
Predictions: SU Winner – Quinni, ATS Winner – Quinni
Notes
“Quinnipiac is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games “.
“Quinnipiac is 4-11 SU in its last 15 games “.
“The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Quinnipiac’s last 9 games “.
“Quinnipiac is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games at home”.
“Quinnipiac is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Fairfield”.
Fairfield averages 78.5 points per game (ranked 51st). Quinnipiac, on the other hand, allows 70.4 points per game (ranked 124th).
With 69.6 possessions and .948 points per possession, the Quinnipiac Bobcats perform worse on both metrics than the Fairfield Stags. Fairfield averages 74.1 possessions and 1.060 points per possession.
Fairfield has an average effective field goal percentage of 52.6%. Quinnipiac has not won a game this season when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage (0-4).
Fairfield ranks 38th in assists, recording 16.0 per game. Quinnipiac performs worse at 256th with 12.3 assists per game.
Quinnipiac, the 31st-ranked team in blocked shots, records an average of 5.2 per game. Fairfield does worse, ranked 138th with 3.7.
Quinnipiac is the top-ranked team in the country in terms of offensive rebounds. On the other side, Fairfield ranks 94th when it comes to defensive rebounding.
On average, Fairfield makes 6.7 steals per game. Quinnipiac is a subpar 4-14 when it allows at least 6 steals.
