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UT Arlington Mavericks – Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks Preview – 01.28.2016

Sun Belt foes will collide when the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks (8-11) face off against the UT Arlington Mavericks (14-4) at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. Action begins at 8:00 pm ET on Thursday, Jan. 28.

The Warhawks enter this game hoping for similar success after blowing out South Alabama 100-68 in their last matchup. Justin Roberson was the game’s leading scorer with 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting. The Mavericks, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 68-62 loss against Little Rock in their last game. Drew Charles played well for UT Arlington, recording 12 points, three steals, and two rebounds.

Roberson has taken his game to another level over the last five games for the Warhawks. During that stretch, he has averaged 17.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.8 steals, and 2.0 three-pointers.

UT Arlington takes on Louisiana-Monroe as a four-point favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at 138 points. The Warhawks come into this game 8-11 Straight Up (SU) and 7-8 Against The Spread (ATS).

Over on the other bench, the Mavericks have records of 12-4 ATS and 14-4 SU. Offensively, they average 81.2 points per game, which is good for 32nd in the country. The Mavericks have controlled the glass with a Division I-best 45.9 rebounds per game. The UT Arlington defense has been a problem for competitors, allowing only .391 shooting from the field to its opponents. Teams with weak ball handling have not fared well against the Mavericks, who rank 13th in the nation with 8.6 steals per game.

The conference foes will be squaring off for the first time this season. In their most recent meeting a season ago, UT Arlington came out on top, bumping its SU record to 7-3. With a 2-1-2 record, the Mavericks also have the advantage ATS.

Predictions: SU Winner – Tx-Ar, ATS Winner – UL-Mon, O/U – Over

Notes

Louisiana-Monroe is 4-9 SU in its last 13 games.

The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Louisiana-Monroe’s last 7 games.

Louisiana-Monroe is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home.

Louisiana-Monroe is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Texas-Arlington.

UT Arlington has a solid 5-2 record against teams in its conference, while Louisiana-Monroe is even against its rivals at 4-4.

UT Arlington averages 81.2 points per game (ranked 32nd). Louisiana-Monroe, on the other hand, allows 69.2 points per game (ranked 133rd).

UT Arlington averages 77.3 points per away game (ranked 34th). Louisiana-Monroe allows 64.5 points per home game (ranked 93rd).

The UT Arlington Mavericks have a defensive rating of 90.5 (ranked sixth), while the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks have an offensive rating of 104.4 (ranked 206th).

UT Arlington beats Louisiana-Monroe in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Mavericks average 74.4 possessions and 1.091 points per possession, while the Warhawks average 67.8 possessions with 1.044 points per possession.

Louisiana-Monroe has an average effective field goal percentage of 49.7%. UT Arlington is an even 4-4 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.

On average, Louisiana-Monroe attempts 16.0 three pointers and UT Arlington attempts 29.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks are even at 3-3 while the UT Arlington Mavericks have a tremendous 12-4 record.

UT Arlington ranks 55th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.28. Louisiana-Monroe is ranked lower at 196th with an A/TO of 1.02.

Louisiana-Monroe ranks 122nd in offensive rebounds, while UT Arlington ranks 13th in defensive rebounds.

The UT Arlington Mavericks average 8.6 steals per game (ranked 13th). The Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks have a losing record of 1-2 when they give up at least 8 steals.

Written by GMS Previews

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