Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Florida Atlantic March Madness Betting Preview: Who’s The Real Cinderella?
Cinderella Fairleigh Dickinson Looks to Keep it Going After Stunning Top-Seeded Purdue
Fresh Off First NCAA Tournament Win, Florida Atlantic Looking for More
What will Fairleigh Dickinson do for an encore after busting so many brackets by becoming the second No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed after Friday’s 63-58 victory? Florida Atlantic edged Memphis 66-65 on a Nicholas Boyd basket with 2.5 seconds to play to give the Owls their first NCAA tournament victory. Now the Owls are a double-digit favorite according to the Fairleigh Dickinson vs Florida Atlantic March Madness betting preview.
The Owls are one of four teams left in the tournament with at least 30 wins. Houston and Alabama are No. 1 seeds and UCLA a No. 2 seed while Florida Atlantic is seeded ninth. FAU is favored heading into Sunday’s game according to the NCAA basketball odds.
When it comes to the college basketball news, freshman Tre Carroll returned late in the NCAAB regular season for Florida Atlantic after missing three games. The Owls’ top nine scorers have combined to miss only nine games this season.
FDU is in pretty good shape in the injury department.
Florida Atlantic is 25th in the Associated Press Top 25 and coaches’ polls.
When looking at the favorites to win March Madness, Florida Atlantic went from +20000 to +6500 in the odds to win the national title after the win over Memphis. Fairleigh Dickinson comes in at +50000.
Fairleigh Dickinson: Stepping Up a Level
A year ago, Sean Moore, Demetre Roberts and Grant Singleton teamed up to lead St. Thomas Aquinas to two wins in the Division II national tournament.
When head coach Tobin Anderson was hired at Fairleigh Dickinson, they followed their coach to FDU.
On Friday night they combined for 39 points as the Knights stunned top-seeded Purdue in what will go down as one of the biggest upsets in March Madness history. Now, the Fairleigh Dickinson vs Florida Atlantic March Madness betting preview has the Knights as an underdog once again.
Moore scored in double digits just once in his first 25 games before going off for a season-high 19 points in the upset win.
Moore, Roberts and Singleton combined for six of the Knights’ seven 3-pointers. No shot was bigger than Moore’s 3-pointer with 1:04 left to play after Purdue pulled within two points.
Two free throws by Roberts with 7 seconds to play put the game out of reach.
Fairleigh Dickinson is 5-1 against the college basketball odds in five of its last six games.
Florida Atlantic: Plenty in Reserve
Unsung players tend to emerge every year during March Madness. In Florida Atlantic’s one-point win over American Athletic Conference tournament champion Memphis it was time for Giancarlo Rosado to emerge from the shadows.
Rosado averaged seven points per game in the Conference USA tournament and scored in single digits in each of his last six games.
Rosado was 6 of 6 from the field and had a season-high 15 points. He is one of the reasons why the Fairleigh Dickinson vs Florida Atlantic March Madness betting preview favor the Conference USA champions on Sunday.
With Rosado leading the way, FAU was +7 in bench points against Memphis. That shot making was crucial since four of the Owls’ five starters missed more shots than they made in the game.
Florida Atlantic has covered against the college basketball betting lines in six of its last eight games.
Handicapping the Game
This is the first meeting between Fairleigh Dickinson and Florida Atlantic so it will be hard to know what to expect.
Both teams got it done on the defensive end to overcome stretches of spotty offensive play and now they play with a shot in the East Regional semifinals on the line. FAU is a double-digit favorite and likely to survive and advance in what could be a high-scoring game.
Fairleigh Dickinson is listed as the underdog by the sportsbook for the third time in as many games in the NCAA tournament as the Knights topped favored Texas Southern and Purdue teams to get this far.
The Knights are in the top 50 nationally in scoring offense and steals. However, they rank near the bottom of the nation in field-goal percentage defense.
FAU is in the top 30 in scoring offense, 3-point shooting percentage and ranks 41st in field-goal percentage so perhaps the two offenses will get going.
Among teams still in the tournament, only Pittsburgh has a better record against the spread than Florida Atlantic’s mark of 22-10-1.
The Owls are 26-1 when listed by the NCAA Las Vegas odds as the favorite. Fairleigh Dickinson is 7-8 as the underdog.
The teams are a combined 7-1 (5-3 against the spread) in neutral-site games this season. (Odds change frequently, be sure to check for the most up to date changes.)
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