UT Arlington Mavericks vs. Georgia Southern Eagles Betting Preview
Where: W. S. Hanner Fieldhouse— Statesboro, Georgia
When: Monday, February 20, 2017, 7:00 PM ET
Line: UT Arlington Mavericks (-6) vs. Georgia Southern Eagles (+6); total: 158.0 – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN3
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Betting on the UT Arlington Mavericks (20-6, 10-3 Sun Belt)
On paper, this team looks unbeatable. The Mavericks rank inside the top 100 nationally in points (77.5), assists (15.2), rebounds (38.4) and scoring defense (68.9), while owning a pair of early wins in Texas and versus then-No. 12 Saint Mary’s. They also head into their first and only meeting this season with Georgia Southern carrying a four-game winning streak.
UTA, however, needed a 35-foot prayer from Erick Neal with two second left to escape with the 68-67 win over Georgia State, keeping the Mavs in first place in the Sun Belt conference. A win here will be more crucial as the second-placed Eagles trail them by just half a game.
Junior forward Kevin Harvey leads two other double-digit scorers—Jalen Jones (12.5) and Neal (10.0)— for UTA this season with 16.7 points per contest, including 17 or more in his last seven games. He and the rest of the Mavs will test a Georgia Southern defense that’s yielding 78.3 points in its previous three outings.
Betting on the Georgia Southern Eagles (17-10, 10-4 Sun Belt)
The Eagles snapped a two-game skid with a 70-67 win over Texas State on Saturday, during which the usual protagonists—Ike Smith and Tookie Brown—led the offense with 38 points on 13-for-24 shooting combined. Both guards are averaging almost 20 points per contest this season with 19.8 and 18.2 points, respectively.
Meanwhile, there’s Mike Hughes who’s third in the team in scoring with at least 11 points per game. But he’s been held below 10 points in his previous two contests, including a mere five points in the near-loss to the Bobcats.
Georgia Southern is going to need every point it can muster against UTA’s defense that’s conceding only 65.3 points in its past three games. And speaking of which, the Eagles defense will also have to hold the fort against an offense that compiles close to 80 points a game this season.
Writer’s Prediction
Georgia Southern (+6) wins, 75-71.
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