NCAAB: Florida Atlantic Owls vs. San Diego State Aztecs Betting Preview
The Final Four gets underway Saturday night, and the first matchup will feature a battle between the No. 9 Florida Atlantic Owls (35-3) and the No. 5 San Diego State Aztecs (31-6). This game will be played at NRG Stadium, with tipoff scheduled for 6:09 pm ET.
The Aztecs are the slight favorite in this one. They are -154 to win, while the Owls’ moneyline sits at +128. The spread features Florida Atlantic as 2.5-point underdogs (-105), and the over/under for total points is set at 131.5.
Owls Try To Continue Improbable Run
With wins over No. 8 Memphis (66-65), No. 16 FDU (78-70), No. 4 Tennessee (62-55), and No. 3 Kansas State (79-76), the Florida Atlantic Owls have become quite the Cinderella story in this year’s NCAA tournament. They are hoping the clock doesn’t strike midnight before the end of this game, as they look to keep their improbable run going into the National Championship game on Monday.
In their last win over Kansas State, the Owls had four players in double digits, led by Alijah Martin’s 17 points. Bryan Greenlee and Johnell Davis combined for 29 points, while Vladislav Goldin finished with a double-double as he had 14 points and 13 rebounds.
On the year, the Owls rank 30th in the nation in scoring, averaging 77.4 points per game. Davis (13.9 points, 5.5 rebounds), Martin (13.1 points, 5.2 rebounds), and Goldin (10.3 points, 6.6 rebounds) are the only players over the course of the season who have averaged double digits.
On the defensive end, the Owls aren’t too bad either. They rank 39th overall, allowing opponents an average of 65.4 points per game.
Tough Road For Aztecs Has Them Ready For Saturday Night
With wins over No. 12 Charleston (63-57) and No. 13 Furman (75-52), the Aztecs’ opening weekend was much easier than last weekend. In the Sweet 16, San Diego State took down top-ranked Alabama (71-64), and they followed that up with a 57-56 win over No. 6 Creighton to get to this point.
With tough wins over Alabama and Creighton last week, the Aztecs are more than ready to take on a tough FAU team. In the win over Creighton, Lamont Butler led the way with 18 points, while Darrion Trammell added 12 points and five rebounds.
The biggest takeaway last weekend is how the Aztecs’ 23rd-ranked defense was able to shutdown Alabama’s fourth-ranked offense and Creighton’s 42nd-ranked offense. On the year, San Diego State is only allowing opponents 63.1 points per game, (57.3 over their last three contests).
As a unit, the Aztecs’ offense ranks 175th in the country, averaging 70.8 points per game (67.7 over their last three games).
Take The Owls And The Points
Looking at the trends, Florida Atlantic is 4-1 against the spread in their last five games, and they are 6-1 against the spread in their last seven games as the underdog. Overall, they are undefeated in their last 10 contests.
For the Aztecs, they are a perfect 8-0 in their last eight games, and they are 6-0 against the spread in their last six. In their last ten contests, the UNDER has hit in every single one.
This should be a fun game Saturday night. Both of these teams were not expected to get to this point, but both of them have proven why they can’t be taken lightly.
While San Diego State is the favorite in this one, Florida Atlantic has shown that they can win on both sides of the floor, and they have also shown they can win in a close matchup. It is tough to take either side straight up, but there is a lot of value in taking the Owls and the points.
Take Florida Atlantic +2.5 (-105).
