Florida Atlantic Owls vs. UAB Blazers: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 2/2/2023

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: Bartow Arena, Birmingham, AL

Where to watch: CBS Sports Network

DraftKings: UAB -1

FanDuel: UAB -0.5

BetMGM: UAB -1.5

Caesars: PK

No. 19 Florida Atlantic: 21-1 (11-0 C-USA)

UAB: 15-7 (6-5 C-USA)

FAU: won 70-63 vs. Western Kentucky

UAB: won 70-52 at Rice

The greatest season in Florida Atlantic basketball history continues on Thursday when the No. 19 Owls hit the road and put their 20-game winning streak on the line against the UAB Blazers in Birmingham.

 

Yes, the Owls did it again on Saturday with a 70-63 win over the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, improving to 21-1 on the season and 11-0 in Conference USA play. If people haven’t started talking about this fun team, what in the world are we even doing?

 

Rest assured, this wasn’t the greatest display of offensive basketball from the Owls. They shot just 37 percent from the floor, but hit 13 of 38 from 3-point range and won the game despite making four fewer free throws. Brandon Weatherspoon led the way with 14 points, but it was the FAU defense holding WKU to 36.5 percent shooting and just 2 of 13 from 3-point range.

 

''We're taking some haymakers from really good teams,'' FAU coach Dusty May said. ''Hats off to Western Kentucky. They played hard. They played determined. And we made the plays we needed to down the stretch.''

 

Saturday was the first time since Jan. 11 that the Owls did not cover. They have been overwhelming favorites during this stretch, but the 12-point spread against WKU was the first time we’ve seen a team play them this close. Not sure if this is a sign of things to come, but against a 15-win UAB team, this could be an interesting matchup.

 

''Florida Atlantic is really good,'' W. Kentucky coach Rick Stansbury said. ''There's a reason why they've won 20 in a row.''

 

UAB is trying for a three-game winning streak after beating Rice 70-52 on Saturday. The two straight wins follow two losses to Middle Tennessee and second-place North Texas. KJ Buffen and LeDarrius Brewer each finished with 20 points, and Eric Gaines found a way to 13 points despite shooting 2 of 12 from the floor.

 

If this UAB defense shows up, however, it’s going to be a tough day for FAU. They held Rice to 33.3 percent shooting and just 8 of 26 from behind the 3-point line. Rice also went to the free-throw line a grand total of seven times and turned the ball over 13 times.

 

But this was only the second cover in the last 10 for UAB. The Blazers were 1.5-point favorites against Rice, but hadn’t covered since being 1-point favorites against Louisiana Tech on Jan. 14, an 81-74 win for UAB. They were 0-3-2 in their last five before that.

 

The last meeting at FAU was a barnburner, an 88-86 win for FAU. The Owls were 2-point favorites for the push. Before that, UAB had won eight of the last nine meetings. If there’s a team, with that environment, that can pull off the upset, it would be the Blazers. But there’s something about a team of destiny that tends to make things exciting come March. That would be FAU. Looking forward to this one, which should be another fun one. FAU 84, UAB 78

Florida Atlantic is 5-1 ATS as a road favorite this season.

Florida Atlantic is 28-15 ATS against conference opponents the last three seasons.

Florida Atlantic is 13-3 ATS after a game they were a favorite this season.

Florida Atlantic is 29-17 ATS after a conference win the last 3 seasons.

UAB is 2-9 ATS after failing to cover 2 of 3 ATS this season.

PG: B.J. Greenlee

SG: Jalen Gaffney

SF: Nicholas Boyd

PF: Brandon Weatherspoon

C: Vladislav Goldin

PG: Eric Gaines

SG: Tavin Lovan

SF: LeDarrius Brewer

PF: K.J. Buffen

C: Trey Jemison

Injury report

FAU: None

UAB: Jordan Walker (leg, questionable)

Points: Johnell Davis -- 13.2

Rebounds: Vladislav Goldin -- 6.2

Assists: Nicholas Boyd -- 2.5

Points: Eric Gaines -- 12.9

Rebounds: Trey Jemison -- 8.5

Assists: Eric Gaines -- 4.7