SMU Mustangs vs Florida Atlantic Owls Prediction, 2/22/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: SMU Mustangs vs Florida Atlantic Owls

Date: Thursday, February 22, 2024

Location: Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena in Boca Raton, FL

TV: ESPN

The SMU Mustangs (19-7) are traveling to Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena on Thursday where they will take on the Florida Atlantic Owls (20-6).

The SMU Mustangs stepped onto the hardwood against Memphis and walked away with a win by a score of 106-79 in their last contest. SMU ended having earned a 56.8% field goal percentage (42 out of 74) and converted 12 of their 30 shots from beyond the arc. At the free throw line, the Mustangs buried 10 of 14 tries for a rate of 71.4%. In the matter of getting rebounds, they earned a total of 36 with 15 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 28 dimes for the matchup in addition to forcing the opposition into 18 turnovers and having 11 steals. With regard to defense, SMU allowed their opponent to shoot 48.2% from the floor on 27 out of 56 shooting. Memphis recorded 9 assists and had 10 steals for this contest. On top of that, Memphis snagged 25 rebounds (10 offensive, 15 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Memphis finished shooting 64.0% at the free throw line by making 16 of 25 shots. They knocked down 9 out of their 20 attempts from downtown. When talking about personal fouls, the Mustangs walked away with 18 and Memphis recorded 15 personal fouls.

Ricardo Wright is one guy who came through in the game. He recorded 26 points on 9 of 12 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 18 minutes and totaled 3 boards. He walked away from this one shooting 75.0% from the floor and recorded 1 assist.

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SMU comes into this matchup with a mark of 19-7 so far this season. They cough up possession 11.5 times per contest and as a team are committing 16.4 fouls every game. As a team, SMU is collecting 39.8 rebounds per game and has accounted for 433 dimes for the campaign, which is 28th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. The Mustangs are hitting 34.9% from downtown (199 of 571) and 69.4% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 77.8 pts per game (78th in the country) while shooting 46.5% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Mustangs are forcing 13.2 turnovers every game while drawing 14.8 personal fouls. They are 188th in college basketball in giving up assists with 337 conceded so far this year. The Mustangs are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 39.8% (607 of 1,525) and they relinquish 33.9 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They are giving up 29.7% on 3-point attempts while they are 33rd in college basketball in PPG allowed (65.7).

When they last played, the Florida Atlantic Owls took a loss by a score of 90-86 against South Florida. With respect to how they cleaned up the glass, Florida Atlantic allowed South Florida to collect 30 in total (9 on the offensive glass). They finished shooting 47.4% from beyond the perimeter by going 9 of 19 and walked away from this one shooting 27 of 34 at the charity stripe (79.4%). The Owls permitted South Florida to make 27 of 55 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 49.1% in this game. Overall, the Owls finished the game shooting 30 out of 60 from the floor which gave them a rate of 50.0%. In regard to three-point shots, Florida Atlantic knocked down 8 of 24 tries (33.3%). They were able to bury 18 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 75.0%. South Florida committed 21 personal fouls for this contest which got the Owls to the free throw line for a total of 24 tries. They also turned the ball over 11 times, while recording 4 steals in the game. The Owls were able to pull down 21 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds totaling 27 for the matchup.

Vladislav Goldin ended up being a factor for the Owls for the matchup. He accumulated 23 points in his 28 minutes on the hardwood, but finished this game without an assist. He buried 8 of 11 for the contest for a field goal percentage of 72.7%, and accumulated 2 rebounds.

Florida Atlantic has a mark of 20-6 for the year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Owls are shooting 48.1% from the field, which is ranked 26th in college basketball. Florida Atlantic has tallied 2,169 points on the campaign (83.4 per game) and they collect 38.0 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 15.3 times per game (56th in Division 1) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 11.0 times per game. The Owls are committing 15.9 personal fouls per game and they connect on 71.6% from the charity stripe.

The Florida Atlantic defense allows 33.6% on 3-point shots (192 of 572) and their opponents are converting on 73.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 10.6 dimes and 34.3 rebounds per game, which ranks them 22nd and 154th in those categories. The Owls on the defensive end are ranked 207th in college hoops in PPG surrendered with 72.8. They are able to force 12.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 43.7% from the floor (191st in the country).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take SMU

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