The William & Mary Tribe (17-7) and the Colonial Athletic’s top-ranked offense visit Towson to play the Tigers (17-9) and the fifth-ranked defense in the conference. Action begins at 4:00 pm ET on Saturday, Feb. 13.
The Tigers lost a close one to Northeastern 47-44 on Thursday. John Davis recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds, earning his second double-double of the year. The Tribe, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 86-80 loss at the hands of Hofstra on Thursday. Omar Prewitt had a team-high 25 points.
Prewitt has been hot for the Tribe, averaging 21.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.8 three-pointers over the past five games.
A focal point for Towson is getting to the free throw line. It ranks fifth in the nation in FTA rate (48.2), but William & Mary is among the best in the nation at keeping opponents away from the charity stripe (ranking 22nd by yielding a FTA rate of 27.4).
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Tigers won the first game 76-69. Arnaud William Adala Moto had a stellar game with 18 points, five rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
The Tigers enter the game with records of 17-9 Straight Up (SU) and 8-10 Against The Spread (ATS). In their last 10 games, they are 8-2 ATS. The Tigers have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 80.5 points during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 70.8 points per game. The rebounding edge goes to the Tigers in this matchup, who are one of the top rebounding teams in the nation with an average of 39.8 boards per game. Below-average play has been the norm lately for the Towson defense. The Tigers have given up an average of 74.4 points to opponents in their last 10 games, well over their defense’s season average of 65.5 PPG. The Tigers are the 43rd-best team in the country at blocking shots, averaging 4.8 blocks per game.
Across the court, William & Mary has a SU record of 17-7 and an ATS record of 13-5. Offensively, the Tribe have really sputtered in the last 10 games. Their season average has fallen to 77.5 points per game after averaging only 67.3 during that stretch. William & Mary is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation, hitting .379 of their shots from three-point range. When it comes to making good decisions with the ball, not many are better than the Tribe. They have one of the top assist-to-turnover ratios in the country at 1.56. Switching gears to the William & Mary defense, teams seem to consistently miss three-point shots against the Tribe, who are the 48th-best team in the country in terms of three-point field goal percentage allowed at .316. When it comes to defending the rim, the Tribe are one of the best in the nation with an average of 4.8 blocks per game.
In their previous meeting this season, Towson beat William & Mary, but the win was not enough to overtake William & Mary in their recent head-to-head series. Its record is now 4-6 SU over the last few meetings. Furthermore, William & Mary holds the advantage ATS with a record of 7-3. Neither Towson nor William & Mary has led in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers) over their most recent five games.
Predictions: SU Winner – Towson, ATS Winner – Towson
Notes
“Towson is 16-6 SU in its last 22 games “.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Towson’s last 6 games “.
“Towson is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games at home”.
“Towson is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games at home”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Towson’s last 5 games at home”.
“Towson is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing William & Mary”.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Towson’s last 6 games when playing William & Mary”.
“Towson is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against William & Mary”.
“Towson is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against William & Mary”.
“The total has gone OVER in 5 of Towson’s last 7 games when playing at home against William & Mary”.
The William & Mary Tribe average 77.5 points per game, ranking 68th in the nation. The Towson Tigers rank 36th in points allowed with 65.5.
The William & Mary Tribe rank 38th for their offensive rating of 113.3. The Towson Tigers have a defensive rating of 98.1 (ranked 69th).
William & Mary has an average field goal percentage of 48.7% (ranked 16th). Towson is a losing 1-2 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Towson Tigers average 16.0 three point attempts per game and are 6-4 when attempting at least 20 in a game. The William & Mary Tribe average 21.0 attempts and have a winning record (9-5) when attempting 20 or more.
The 10th-ranked team in the category, William & Mary has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.56 this season. Towson ranks lower at 285th with an A/TO of .88.
Towson, the 41st-ranked team in rebounding, register an average of 39.8 rebounds per game. William & Mary does worse, ranked 126th with 37.3.
The Towson Tigers make an average of 6.4 steals per game. When the William & Mary Tribe allow 6 or more steals, they are a solid 10-5.
