FAU vs UAB Betting: Owls Small Road Favorites
No. 20 Florida Atlantic Looks to Stay Even With USF
The No. 20 Florida Atlantic Owls will look to keep pace with the USF Bulls when they visit UAB. The Owls trail USF by a half-game in the American Athletic Conference Standings. The Blazers are 6-3 in the conference and are the only team to knock off USF in conference play. Winning at UAB isn’t necessarily an easy thing. It’s a crucial game for Florida Atlantic, as the game with USF will be on the road. The FAU vs UAB betting odds have Florida Atlantic as 5-point road favorites. The total in the game is 156 points.
Owls vs Blazers 
Location: Bartow Arena, Birmingham, Alabama
Day/Time: Streaming: Watch Live Sports
FAU Brings the Offense
The strength of the FAU Owls is the offense. The KenPom offensive efficiency rankings have the Owls No. 12 in the country and best in the AAC. Florida Atlantic is shooting 48.8% from the field and 36.9% on 3-pointers. Those numbers have tailed off a little bit in conference games. But the Owls are still shooting a conference-best 54.5% on 2-pointers and 37.1% on 3-pointers. That’s third-best in the AAC. FAU does a good job taking care of the ball and grabbing offensive rebounds. FAU is No. 7 in the conference in adjusted pace ratings. The Owls move up-and-down the court, but opponents are taking 18.8 seconds per possession, which is No. 14 in the conference.
Florida Atlantic’s defense isn’t up to par with the offense. But it’s not all that bad. The Owls are No. 6 in the conference in defensive efficiency. FAU allows teams to shoot 44.4% in conference games and doesn’t force a lot of turnovers. The Owls have defended the 3-pointer a little better than the 2-pointer and do a good job of not sending teams to the foul line.
Florida Atlantic has been listed in the NCAA basketball ratings for much of the season. As a result, the Owls might be a little bit overrated. That’s evidenced in their 8-1 record in AAC play, but just 2-7 against the college basketball betting lines. The Owls are 11-11 against the spread for the season and in totals.
Blazers Pretty Average Across the Board
UAB doesn’t have any real strengths. But it doesn’t have any real weaknesses, either. UAB is pretty average and has shown a tendency to play up or down to its competition. The Blazers are 14-8 straight-up this season and 11-9-1 against the point spread. UAB is 9-3 at home, where it’s gone 6-6 against the spread. The Blazers are 13-8 in totals this season, but 4-5 in conference games. UAB is 6-2-1 ATS in AAC games but is 7-1 against the spread as an underdog.
The Blazers are averaging 77.4 points per game and are No. 8 in the conference in the KenPom efficiency ratings. UAB shoots 51% on 2-pointers and 34.1% on 3-pointers in conference games. The Owls do shoot pretty well from the foul line and do a good job getting to the foul line. UAB does make a few too many turnovers, but it is decent at getting offensive rebounds.
Defensively, the Blazers are No. 7 in the conference efficiency ratings. UAB allows 50.3% on 2-pointers and 33.7% on 3-pointers. The Blazers are No. 3 in the conference at preventing offensive rebounds. UAB’s defense has been pretty consistent in points allowed in conference games and non-conference games.
What to Expect
The pace here should be a little quicker than average, but nothing too terribly fast. Each team may get an extra possession or two above their season averages. But that’s probably about it.
FAU is shooting a fair number of 3-pointers in conference games, so that is likely to continue. The Owls are scoring 35.5% of their conference points from beyond the arc. The Blazers shoot a higher percentage of shots from the inside and score 24.6% of their conference points from 3-point range.
Who to Bet On?
The FAU vs UAB betting line of Owls -5 makes pretty good sense. The Owls are a ranked team and have higher name recognition than UAB. So that will probably ensure a few wagers coming in on the road team. But Florida Atlantic’s conference record against the spread doesn’t instill a lot of confidence. Especially when playing a team that has performed well as an underdog and is playing with revenge. FAU won 86-73 at home on Jan. 14 after shooting 61.1% on 2-pointers. Neither team was that strong in 3-point shooting that game.
The FAU vs UAB betting number on the total is a tough one to predict. The number was 152 when the teams met earlier. There really isn’t a whole lot to indicate the total should be four points higher now. FAU led 43-24 at halftime, so there was a lot of second-half garbage time and 92 points scored.
This is a spot the Blazers should play well in. They’ve gone 8-2 the last three seasons avenging a road loss and the Blazers +5 is the side to be on here.
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