The Northwestern Wildcats and FAU Owls meet Friday in the college basketball NCAA Tournament First Round at the Barclays Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Northwestern Wildcats vs FAU Owls prediction.
Northwestern Wildcats Betting Preview
The Northwestern Wildcats recently beat Minnesota while losing to Michigan State and Wisconsin. The Northwestern Wildcats are averaging 74.1 points on 46.1 percent shooting and allowing 69 points on 45 percent shooting. Boo Buie is averaging 19.2 points and 3.4 rebounds, while Brooks Barnhizer is averaging 14.6 points and 7.5 rebounds. Ryan Langborg is the third double-digit scorer and Ty Berry is grabbing 3.9 rebounds. The Northwestern Wildcats are shooting 39.6 percent from beyond the arc and 74.8 percent from the free throw line. The Northwestern Wildcats are allowing 35.5 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 28.9 rebounds per game.
FAU Owls Betting Preview
The FAU Owls recently beat Memphis and North Texas while losing to Temple. The FAU Owls are averaging 83 points on 47.9 percent shooting and allowing 73.3 points on 43.7 percent shooting. Johnell Davis is averaging 18.2 points and 3 assists, while Vladislav Goldin is averaging 15.6 points and 6.8 rebounds. Alijah Martin is the third double-digit scorer and Nicholas Boyd is grabbing 2.8 rebounds. The FAU Owls are shooting 36.2 percent from beyond the arc and 71.8 percent from the free throw line. The FAU Owls are allowing 33.1 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 35.1 rebounds per game.
Northwestern Wildcats vs FAU Owls prediction
The Northwestern Wildcats and the free bucket is probably where the value is at. Northwestern has proven itself in the Big Ten this season and is led by one of the best offenses in the country. Northwestern is 92nd in field goal percentage and eighth in three point percentage. The FAU Owls have been a bit of a letdown this season as they’ve lost a lot of weird games, and that includes a loss to Temple in the AAC Tournament as a 14-point favorite. With all that said, this is the same FAU squad that made the Final Four last season. That experience and chemistry matters. I’m banking on that getting FAU at least one win in this tournament. I’ll lay the bucket.
