Don’t expect a high-scoring game when the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (4-10) travel to Florida Atlantic to play the Owls (2-14). The game gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Thursday, Jan. 14.
The Owls were beaten by Western Kentucky 86-82 in their last game. Ronald Delph was one of the best players for the Owls, contributing 13 points, eight rebounds, and five blocks. The Golden Eagles are coming off a 73-71 win over Old Dominion in their last outing. Khari Price shot 6 for 12 and led in scoring with 20 points.
Half-court execution will be at a premium as Florida Atlantic ranks 273rd in the nation in possessions per game (67.6 possessions per game), while Southern Miss is 345th (63.7).
Florida Atlantic is a four-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 122 points. The Owls enter the game with records of 2-14 Straight Up (SU) and 4-8-2 Against The Spread (ATS). Teams really have to fight for three-pointers against the Owls, who have allowed only 5.0 three-pointers to opponents per game.
On the other side, the Golden Eagles fare well ATS, sitting at 7-4. However, they are only 4-10 SU.
This is the first meeting of the season for the conference rivals. The last time they played, Southern Miss came out on top, moving its SU record against the Owls to 2-0. Additionally, Southern Miss leads the matchup ATS with a record of 2-0.
Predictions: SU Winner – FlaAtl, ATS Winner – SouMis, O/U – Over
Notes
Florida Atlantic is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games.
Florida Atlantic is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games.
Southern Miss holds a poor 1-2 SU record against teams in the Conference USA Conference, but Florida Atlantic has yet to win a game against one of its conference rivals (0-3).
The Florida Atlantic Owls average 67.6 possessions per game and .933 points per possession, while the Southern Miss Golden Eagles earn fewer possessions (63.7) but more points per possession (.937).
The Florida Atlantic Owls average an effective field goal percentage of 44.4% this season. The Southern Miss Golden Eagles have a poor record of 3-7 when opponents have an eFG% of 44.4% or greater.
On average, Florida Atlantic makes 5.4 steals per game. Southern Miss is a subpar 1-8 when it gives up at least 5 steals.
