The Savannah State Tigers (16-15) and UT Arlington Mavericks (23-10) meet in the first round of the CIT tournament at Tiger Arena. The game gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Mar. 16.
The Tigers were blown out by Hampton 89-55 in the 3 of the Mid-Eastern tournament. Christopher Martin was the team’s leading scorer, putting up 13. The Mavericks, meanwhile, are coming off an 82-71 loss to Louisiana-Monroe in the 3 of the Sun Belt tournament. Jalen Jones had a solid game, registering his second double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
The Tigers might struggle to find the bottom of the net as they face off against one of the nation’s best defenses. The Mavericks rank 18th in the nation in defensive efficiency, while Savannah State ranks 342nd in offensive efficiency. Furthermore, the defense of the Mavericks should have an advantage in terms of eFG%. They’re 33rd in the nation in forcing misses (opponents’ eFG% of 46.7%), while the offense of the Tigers ranks 320th in eFG% (45.8%).
The Tigers look to build on their records of 16-15 Straight Up (SU) and 2-4 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a solid 7-3 SU record over their last 10 games, but have not fared as well ATS (3-7).
Across the court, the Mavericks have a record of 17-14 ATS and 23-10 SU. The Mavericks are a force on the boards, grabbing a Division I-best 43.8 rebounds per game. Shifting to the other side of the court, teams seem to consistently miss shots against the Mavericks, who are the 19th-best team in the nation in terms of opponent field goal percentage allowed at .398.
Savannah State and UT Arlington have not played one another in a regular season matchup in recent years.
Predictions: SU Winner – Tx-Ar, ATS Winner – Tx-Ar
Notes
The UT Arlington Mavericks have a defensive rating of 95.5 (ranked 18th), while the Savannah State Tigers have an offensive rating of 92.3 (ranked 342nd).
With 67.6 possessions and .923 points per possession, the Savannah State Tigers perform worse on both metrics than the UT Arlington Mavericks. UT Arlington averages 73.2 possessions and 1.087 points per possession.
UT Arlington has an average effective field goal percentage of 49.3%. Savannah State is an underachieving 5-12 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
The Savannah State Tigers average 20.0 three point attempts per game and are 10-8 when attempting at least 20 in a game. The UT Arlington Mavericks average 27.0 attempts and have a winning record (19-8) when attempting 20 or more.
UT Arlington ranks 68th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.25. Savannah State is ranked lower at 343rd with an A/TO of .71.
Savannah State ranks 278th in offensive rebounds, while UT Arlington ranks 13th in defensive rebounds.
The Savannah State Tigers make an average of 6.1 steals per game. When the UT Arlington Mavericks allow 6 or more steals, they are a solid 16-7.
