MTSU Blue Raiders vs Florida Atlantic Owls Prediction, 3/4/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: MTSU Blue Raiders vs Florida Atlantic Owls

Date: Thursday, March 4, 2021

Location: FAU Arena in Boca Raton, FL

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: MTSU (+7.5)

FAU Arena is the venue where and the Florida Atlantic Owls (10-9) will play the MTSU Blue Raiders (5-15) on Thursday. The line on this game has Florida Atlantic as 7.5-point favorites. The over/under opens at 138.

MTSU enters this matchup with a win-loss mark of 5-15 so far this season. They turn it over 15.3 times per game and as a unit they are committing 16.4 fouls every game. As a unit, MTSU is pulling down 33.7 boards per game and is sitting with 206 dimes so far this season, which ranks 299th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Blue Raiders are shooting 33.3% on shots beyond the perimeter (155 of 465) and 68.0% from the free throw line. They average 63.3 pts per contest (329th in the country) while hitting 39.7% from the floor. When they are on the defensive end, the Blue Raiders are forcing 14.0 turnovers every game and they draw 13.9 fouls. The Blue Raiders defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 46.9% (527 of 1,124) and they surrender 35.3 rebounds per game as a unit. They currently rank 128th in college hoops in giving up assists with 253 surrendered on the year. They are giving up 30.7% on 3-pointers while they are 190th in D-1 in points per game allowed (70.4).

The MTSU Blue Raiders played the Old Dominion Monarchs and took a loss by a score of 73-60 in their last game. MTSU ended the game with a 33.3% field goal percentage (20 out of 60) and made 9 of their 30 3-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Blue Raiders converted 11 of 14 tries for a rate of 78.6%. When it comes to grabbing boards, they compiled 35 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 15 assists for this game as well as forcing 8 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In regard to defense, MTSU allowed their opponent to shoot 51.6% from the floor on 32 out of 62 shooting. Old Dominion distributed 16 dimes and had 7 steals for the game. Additionally, Old Dominion totaled 35 rebounds (6 offensive, 29 defensive) and added 4 blocked shots. Old Dominion finished the game at 42.9% at the charity stripe by making 3 of 7 attempts. They made 6 of their 20 attempts from downtown.

Jalen Jordan is a player who was a major contributor in this contest. He ended up scoring 12 points on 4 out of 9 shooting. He was on the court for 26 minutes and totaled 4 rebounds. Jordan shot 44.4% from the floor and also totaled 4 assists. An additional guy that was a determining factor in this matchup for the Blue Raiders was Jo'Vontae Millner-Criss. He grabbed 3 rebounds in 26 min on the hardwood. He finished the contest at 42.9% from the field in this matchup by shooting 3-of-7 (11 points). When the final whistle was blown, Millner-Criss had accumulated 1 assist.

Florida Atlantic has a mark of 10-9 on the campaign. Florida Atlantic has accounted for 1,508 pts so far this year (79.4 per contest) and they average 40.4 rebounds per game. The Owls have committed 18.1 personal fouls per game and they hit 65.2% from the free throw line. In terms of offensive execution, the Owls are connecting on 46.7% from the field, which is 63rd in the nation. They are assisting teammates 14.6 times per game (94th in college hoops) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.5 times per contest. The Owls on the defensive end are ranked 106th in the nation in points given up per game with 67.8. They have surrendered 10.7 dimes and 32.0 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks them 37th and 52nd in those categories on the defensive end. The Florida Atlantic defense gives up 35.8% on shots from 3-point land (140 of 391) and their opponents are making 69.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They have forced 14.4 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 42.4% from the field (137th in Division 1).

When they last stepped on the court, the Florida Atlantic Owls took home the win by a final score of 73-66 against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. The Owls recorded 29 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds totaling 35 in this contest. They turned the ball over 22 times, while recording 11 steals in this game. The Golden Eagles committed 22 fouls in the game which took the Owls to the charity stripe for a total of 20 shots. They were able to knock down 15 of the free throw tries for a rate of 75.0%. In regard to shooting from beyond the arc, Florida Atlantic converted 10 out of their 22 tries (45.5%). When this game wrapped up, the Owls finished the game shooting 24 for 49 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 49.0%. The Owls allowed the Golden Eagles to knock down 21 of their 54 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 38.9% in this matchup. They finished 29.2% from behind the 3-point line by connecting on 7 out of 24 and ended up shooting 17 of 25 from the free throw line (68.0%). In regard to how they cleaned up the glass, Florida Atlantic allowed Southern Miss to collect 23 overall (4 on the offensive glass).

Karlis Silins ended up being important for the Owls in the game. He converted 5 out of 7 for the contest giving him a rate of 71.4%, and had 6 rebounds. Silins earned 15 points in his 24 minutes on the court, but went home with no dimes. Another guy that was important for Florida Atlantic was Bryan Greenlee. He came away with 4 dimes in his 34 mins on the hardwood, and he knocked down 4 of 6 from the floor. Greenlee walked away from this one going 66.7% from the field as well as totaling 13 points and 6 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take MTSU (+7.5)

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