For those who love offense, Sunday’s American Athletic Conference game between UAB and host Florida Atlantic should deliver plenty of points.
These are the highest-scoring teams in the AAC, with UAB averaging 84.8 points and FAU averaging 82.3.
A year ago as the fourth seed, UAB earned the automatic bid by winning the AAC tournament while FAU, a Final 4 team in 2023 while competing in Conference USA, earned an at-large bid in its first AAC season.
UAB (9-7, 2-1) lost its first AAC game, 78-75 at North Texas, but bounced back to win its last two AAC home games, 83-51 against Tulsa and 81-69 on Tuesday against Tulane. Yaxel Lendeborg, a 6-foot-9 senior who was a first-team All-AAC player last year, had 25 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.
For all the offense that it creates, UAB is a below-average three-point shooting team. The Blazers are eighth in the AAC in three-point percentage (.328). FAU shoots .349 from beyond the arc.
FAU has struggled for consistency at the foul line (.697) while UAB shoots .761.
FAU (9-7, 2-1) also dropped its first AAC game, 90-62 at home to Memphis before winning the next two on the road. The Owls beat East Carolina 78-76 and Charlotte 75-64.
Baba Miller, a 6-foot-11 junior from Spain, led the way for FAU by totaling 20 points, seven rebounds, and two blocked shots.
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UAB at Florida Atlantic Betting Odds
Florida Atlantic is a 3.5-point college basketball favorite on BetMGM against UAB with the Over/Under at 163.5.
The moneyline for FAU is -165 while it is +140 for UAB.
UAB at Florida Atlantic on TV
The game between UAB and Florida Atlantic will be televised on ESPN.
Tipoff is 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jan. 12.
UAB at Florida Atlantic Prediction
I like FAU laying the points. The Owls are only 3-2 at home, but their last game in Boca Raton was the loss to AAC favorite Memphis. Last year, the Owls beat UAB by 13 points at home.
Both UAB and FAU will be bringing their track shoes.
UAB especially will want to run, run, and run some more. The Blazers entered the weekend second in the country in fastbreak points, 19.44 per game.
FAU likes to run, but isn’t quite as effective in transition as UAB. The Owls average 14.19 fast break points per game, which was 47th nationally entering the weekend.
What is interesting is that FAU has a higher adjusted tempo (number of possessions per 40 minutes), according to Kenpom.com. The Owls entered the weekend with an adjusted tempo of 72.2, which was 27th nationally, while UAB was at 70.6, which stood at 74th.
The reason so much offense is expected is that defense isn’t a strength of either team. UAB entered the weekend 10th in the AAC in scoring defense, allowing 74.6 points. FAU was 12th, allowing 77.4 points.
FAU has tremendous balance, with seven players averaging between eight and 12 points per game. Two players, 6-foot-7 junior Tre Carroll and 6-foot-7 sophomore Kaleb Glenn, share the scoring lead with both averaging 11.9 points. Glenn comes off the bench to give the Owls a major spark.
Lendeborg is one of five double-figure scorers for UAB. He is averaging 16.4 points and 10.1 rebounds. Christian Coleman a 6-foot-8 senior, is second to Lendeborg in both scoring (11.9 ppg.) and rebounds (7.4).
While Lendeborg will be a handful to stop, in this one, we see the balance and depth of FAU being the difference.
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