Utah Valley vs Abilene Christian and Betting Preview
Sportsmemo content contributor Kyle Kargel offers his Utah Valley vs Abilene Christian predictions and betting preview in the WAC Tournament for Wednesday, March 9. At the time of posting, the Wildcats are a 2.5-point favorite against the Wolverines, with the total sitting at 132.5 points.
Check out our College Basketball Free Picks page for betting thoughts from some of the country’s top handicappers.
Wednesday, March 9 | WAC Tournament Betting Notes |
---|---|
Point Spread: | Utah Valley Wolverines +2.5 vs Abilene Christian Wildcats |
Total: | 132.5 Points |
Game Time: | 11:30pm ET / 8:30pm PT |
Arena: | Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, NV |
TV: | ESPN+ |
Utah Valley vs Abilene Christian Analysis
Utah Valley is coming off a big win against Chicago State last night in the first night of the WAC Tournament.
Star center Fardaws Aimaq came to play putting up 20 points on 7-11 shooting and adding six rebounds. After halftime the Cougars barely stood a chance as the Wolverines were able to pull away quickly entering the second half.
Tonight they’ll take on a much tougher opponent in Abilene Christian who had a bye in the first round of the tournament. The Wildcats are coming off back-to-back wins to conclude the regular season defeating Dixie State and Tarleton State.
Abilene Christian is currently favored by 2.5 points, but can Utah Valley win in back-to-back days to continue their WAC Tournament journey?
Wildcats Rely on Tenacious Defense
Opposite of Utah Valley, Abilene Christian likes to play up-tempo while putting up almost 77 points per game.
Many of those points come at the free throw line where they’re top 10 nationally in percentage of points per game from there at 22.7%.
They don’t generate many blocks on offense and that’s due to them being the shortest team in the country. As far as rotational players are concerned, their tallest players are 6’8” or shorter.
They make up for their lack of size with their ability to generate turnovers on defense ranking #1 nationally in percentage of opponent possessions resulting in turnovers at 28.7%. Most of that is the 11+ steals their aggressive defense generates per game.
Overall on offense they need to improve as they rank 309th in three point field goal percentage and 233rd in two point field goal percentage.
Their top three scorers shoot 44% or better from the field overall but only shoot 35% or worse from three point range. They’re going to need much more than the free throw line to come away with a win here.
Wolverines Must Take Care of the Ball
The Wolverines should have no problem containing the Wildcats’ offense as Utah Valley is 5th nationally at defending the three and 51st at defending the two point shot nationally.
Those statistics contribute significantly to their 70th overall ranking in adjusted defensive efficiency. Where the Wolverines could struggle mightily is their inability to take care of the ball as their 342nd nationally in percentage of possessions resulting in turnovers.
Therefore, they need to go inside as much as possible to Aimaq to take advantage of the Wildcats lack of size. In their first and only game against each other way back on December 30, Aimaq put up 21 points on 8-14 shooting and added 10 rebounds.
The star was guard Blaze Neal who scored 27 points on 10-12 shooting and added 11 assists and 7 rebounds. That’s a far reach from his season averages of 7 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists per game.
Utah Valley vs Abilene Christian Prediction
Abilene Christian walked away with the win in that game 80-76 even with Neal’s great game.
I don’t see him having the same type of game this time around and the Wildcats defense will look to generate 20+ turnovers tonight against Utah Valley.
Aimaq will likely put up 20+ points but I don’t see that being enough to fight past Abilene Christian’s tenacious defense. Take the Wildcats to cover the short spread.
Prediction: Abilene Christian -2.5
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Utah Valley vs Abilene Christian GoldSheet Preview
College Basketball Stat Sheet
GoldSheet prepares a daily college basketball stat sheet, which offers a head-to-head comparison for how teams are performing in a number of key areas heading into a game. Check out Wednesday’s sheet, with notes on tonight’s Utah Valley vs Abilene Christian contest.
NCAAB Odds Screen
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