It will be a battle between AAC opponents when the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (10-9, 3-4 AAC) welcome the Memphis Tigers (13-6, 4-2 AAC) to Donald Reynolds Center. The game can be seen on ESPNU at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 20, 2018.
Tulsa opened as a 3.5-point favorite, while the game’s Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 139.5 points.
Memphis Tigers at Tulsa Golden Hurricane Betting Prediction
The last time the Tigers played, they blew out the Connecticut Huskies, 73-49. The Tigers, who came into the game averaging an offensive rebounding percentage of 35.2, had an extraordinary mark of 50.0 and held the Huskies to an effective field goal percentage of 0.413 (below the 0.504 mark opponents have averaged against Memphis this season). Jeremiah Martin was a key piece for Memphis with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
The Golden Hurricane lost a tough one against the Temple Owls in their last outing, 59-58. Temple’s 7.6 turnover percentage was their biggest advantage over Tulsa, who had a mark of 23.6. The Owls’ mark was better than their season average of 14.7, while the Golden Hurricane’s was above their season average of 16.1. With 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting, Junior Etou led Tulsa in scoring.
A focal point for the Memphis offense is getting to the free throw line. The Tigers rank 26th in free throw attempt (FTA) rate (0.294), but Tulsa is among the best in the NCAA at keeping opponents away from the charity stripe (ranking 24th by yielding a FTA rate of 0.177).
This is the second game of the season between these two teams. In the first, Martin scored a game-high 28 points and the Tigers defeated the Golden Hurricane 76-67. He also put up eight assists and five rebounds. Memphis’ effective field goal percentage was its biggest advantage over Tulsa. The Tigers had a rate of 0.571 while the Golden Hurricane posted a mark of 0.440.
Memphis Tigers at Tulsa Golden Hurricane Free Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Memphis, ATS Winner – Memphis, O/U – Over
Notes
Betting Notes:
Tulsa ranks 45th in rebounds per game (38.7) while Memphis ranks 157th (35.4).
The Golden Hurricane rank 121st in three pointers attempted per game (22.5) while the Tigers rank 226th in three pointers allowed per game (24.4).
Memphis averages 4.2 blocks per game, which ranks 65th in the NCAA. Tulsa ranks 122nd in blocks allowed per game (4.1).
The Tigers average 13.3 assists per game, which ranks 154th in the nation. The Golden Hurricane rank 178th in assists allowed per game (14.7).
Bettings Trends:
The Tigers’ average margin of victory in their last five games has been 6.8, up from 1.1 for the season.
During their last five games, the Golden Hurricane have scored an average of 71.0 points per game (3.2 below their season average) and allowed an average of 79.8 points per game (6.7 above their season average).
