Northwestern Wildcats vs Florida Atlantic Owls Prediction, 3/22/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northwestern Wildcats vs Florida Atlantic Owls

Date: Friday, March 22, 2024

Location: Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: Northwestern (-2)

The Florida Atlantic Owls (25-8) are welcoming the Northwestern Wildcats (21-11) at Barclays Center on Friday in the NCAA Tournament. Northwestern opens this matchup as 2-point favorites. The total has been set at 141.

The Northwestern Wildcats played Wisconsin and took a loss by a score of 70-61 in their last game. In relation to personal fouls, the Wildcats ended up finishing with 16 and Wisconsin recorded 17 personal fouls. They also buried 10 out of their 22 attempts from beyond the perimeter. Wisconsin went 66.7% from the charity stripe by making 12 of their 18 shots. Furthermore, Wisconsin pulled down 30 boards (4 offensive, 26 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Wisconsin dished out 15 dimes and had 6 steals for this game. In regard to defense, Northwestern allowed 46.2% from the field on 24 of 52 shooting. They also doled out 12 dimes in this contest while forcing 9 turnovers and getting 6 steals. In reference to grabbing boards, they earned 28 with 6 of them being offensive. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Wildcats buried 13 of their 17 attempts for a percentage of 76.5%. Northwestern walked away from the contest with a 37.7% field goal percentage (20 of 53) and converted 8 of their 23 shots from downtown.

Boo Buie is a player who came through in the matchup. He walked away with 29 points on 9 of 15 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 37 minutes played and also grabbed 2 boards. He went 60.0% from the field and also recorded 3 dimes.

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Northwestern heads into this one with a record of 21-11 for the season. They currently have an average of 73.7 pts per contest (171st in the nation) while shooting 45.9% from the field. The Wildcats are hitting 39.4% from downtown (266 of 675) and 74.8% from the free throw line. As a unit, Northwestern is pulling down 31.2 rebounds per game and has tallied 502 dimes for the campaign, which ranks 58th in college hoops in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession by turning the ball over 8.8 times per game and as a team are committing 17.8 fouls per game.

When they are on defense, the Wildcats are forcing their opponents into 12.3 turnovers every game and they draw 16.8 personal fouls. They rank 265th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 447 surrendered this year. The Wildcats are allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 45.0% (755 of 1,677) and they surrender 33.3 rebounds per contest as a unit. They are giving up 35.9% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 89th in college basketball in points per game allowed (69.0).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Florida Atlantic Owls walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 74-73 when they faced Temple. Concerning attacking the glass, Florida Atlantic permitted Temple to collect 24 in total (2 on the offensive glass). They shot 50.0% from beyond the arc by shooting 12 of 24 and finished the contest at 12 out of 19 at the free throw line (63.2%). The Owls permitted Temple to knock down 25 out of 58 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.1% for this contest. When the game finished, the Owls shot 26 out of 48 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 54.2%. In reference to three-point shots, Florida Atlantic made 3 of their 17 attempts (17.6%). They were able to knock down 18 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 75.0%. Temple earned 21 fouls for the contest which took the Owls to the free throw line for a total of 24 shots. They turned the ball over 14 times, while recording 4 steals for the contest. The Owls earned 31 defensive boards and 0 offensive boards for a total of 31 for this contest.

Vladislav Goldin was important for the Owls for the matchup. He recorded 23 points in his 28 minutes on the hardwood, but wasn't able to notch an assist. He made 10 of 12 in the matchup for a field goal rate of 83.3%, and totaled 5 rebounds.

Florida Atlantic has a mark of 25-8 on the campaign. On the offensive side of the court, the Owls are connecting on 48.1% from the floor, which is ranked 25th in Division 1. Florida Atlantic has totaled 2,724 pts this season (82.5 per contest) and they collect 38.1 rebounds per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 15.0 times per contest (71st in college hoops) and they are turning it over 11.1 times per contest. The Owls are committing 16.0 personal fouls per contest and they go 71.8% from the free throw line.

The Owls are ranked 229th in the country in points per game surrendered with 73.3. They have forced 11.6 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.6% from the field (175th in college basketball). The Florida Atlantic defense gives up 33.7% on 3-point shots (247 of 733) and their opponents are converting on 72.7% of their foul shots. They have allowed 10.2 dimes and 33.9 rebounds per contest, which ranks them 10th and 136th in the nation.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Northwestern (-2)

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