MTSU Blue Raiders vs Florida Atlantic Owls Prediction, 2/19/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: MTSU Blue Raiders vs Florida Atlantic Owls

Date: Saturday, February 19, 2022

Location: FAU Arena in Boca Raton, FL

TV: ESPN+

FAU Arena is the location where the Florida Atlantic Owls (15-10) will take on the MTSU Blue Raiders (17-7) on Saturday.

The MTSU Blue Raiders stepped onto the hardwood against Charlotte and notched a win by a score of 78-63 in their last game. With respect to personal fouls, the Blue Raiders walked away with 16 while Charlotte totaled 17 personal fouls. They made 3 of 13 attempts from beyond the perimeter. Charlotte finished the game shooting 85.7% from the free throw line by burying 12 of their 14 tries. On top of that, Charlotte grabbed 18 rebounds (3 offensive, 15 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Charlotte recorded 7 assists and had 2 steals in this game. When discussing defense, MTSU allowed 45.3% from the field on 24 of 53 shooting. They also distributed 12 dimes for this contest while creating 7 turnovers and earning 2 steals. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they collected 32 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. When they shot from the free throw line, the Blue Raiders knocked down 15 of their 18 tries for a percentage of 83.3%. MTSU wrapped up the game having earned a 55.1% FG percentage (27 of 49) and buried 9 of their 17 shots from distance.

Josh Jefferson is one guy who was a major factor for this contest. He ended up going 69.2% from the field and dished out 1 assist. He was on the hardwood for 25 minutes played and also grabbed 5 rebounds. He racked up 30 points on 9 of 13 shooting.

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MTSU enters this matchup with a record of 17-7 this year. They are averaging 74.8 pts per contest (88th in the nation) while going 45.2% from the floor. The Blue Raiders are hitting 32.7% on 3-point shots (201 of 614) and 74.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, MTSU is pulling in 35.1 boards per game and is sitting with 295 assists for the campaign, which ranks 249th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 13.2 times per game and as a group they commit 18.5 fouls per contest.

On the defensive end, the Blue Raiders are forcing their opponents into 15.5 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.7 fouls. They are 29th in the nation in allowing assists with 247 surrendered on the campaign. The Blue Raiders are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 42.6% (560 of 1,315) and they relinquish 33.6 boards per game as a group. They concede 32.1% on 3-point attempts while they are 124th in the country in points per game allowed (67.0).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Florida Atlantic Owls took a loss by a final score of 76-69 when they faced Western Kentucky. In regard to rebounds, Florida Atlantic permitted Western Kentucky to pull down 30 in total (5 on the offensive side). They went 31.6% from three-point range by going 6 of 19 and ended up shooting 16 out of 19 from the free throw line (84.2%). The Owls allowed Western Kentucky to make 27 of 56 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 48.2% in this game. Overall, the Owls shot 25 for 62 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 40.3%. Regarding shots from downtown, Florida Atlantic converted 10 of their 31 attempts (32.3%). They were able to knock down 9 of the free throws for a percentage of 69.2%. Western Kentucky had 11 personal fouls for the contest which took the Owls to the charity stripe for 13 attempts. They also turned the ball over 15 times, while getting 8 steals for the matchup. The Owls corralled 18 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 27 in this matchup.

Michael Forrest ended up being a major contributor for the Owls for this game. He made 5 out of 12 for this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 41.7%, and had 3 rebounds. He earned 20 points in his 33 mins of playing time and had 5 dimes in the game.

Florida Atlantic has a mark of 15-10 this year. As an offense, the Owls are connecting on 46.0% from the field, which is 79th in college basketball. Florida Atlantic has totaled 1,886 points for the year (75.4 per game) and they pull down 37.2 boards per contest. They are earning an assist 14.0 times per contest (126th in the nation) and they are turning it over 12.6 times per contest. The Owls are committing 16.4 fouls per contest while shooting 70.1% from the charity stripe.

The Florida Atlantic defense gives up 36.0% from downtown (176 of 489) and their opponents are knocking down 69.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They have surrendered 11.8 assists and 32.1 boards per contest, which is 117th and 65th in those categories on the defensive end. The Owls are ranked 144th in the nation in PPG given up with 67.8. They have forced 13.4 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 43.9% from the floor (232nd in D-1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take MTSU

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