Liberty vs FAU Odds, Pick
| Liberty Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+7.5 -110 | 144.5 -110o / -110u | +260 |
| Florida Atlantic Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-7.5 -110 | 144.5 -110o / -110u | -350 |
The Field of 68 Tip-Off begins on Thursday. It’s the inaugural meeting of a multi-year, three-team event featuring top-tier mid-majors, Charleston, FAU and Liberty.
Liberty Flames
I can firmly say Liberty is the most underrated team in America. It ranks 39th in KenPom, which is 45 spots ahead of James Madison. However, only the Dukes are nationally ranked.
Liberty has an opportunity to pick up a marquee win for its NCAA tournament resume against one of the best teams in America.
Liberty is just so balanced. Six players average seven-plus points, led by rising senior Kyle Rode’s 16 points per contest. The Flames boast one of the most efficient offenses in the country, shooting 53% from the floor and 42% from downtown.
The toughest part is Liberty plays at an incredibly slow tempo, which limits the opponent's opportunity to come back if Liberty takes an early lead. Nothing in the world hits worse than defending tough for 28 seconds, only for Liberty to hit a dagger 3.
Sure, Darius McGhee is gone, but even without the star scorer, the trio of Colin Porter, Kaden Metheny and Brody Peebles can rack up the points.
Metheny and Porter both are undersized for the guard position, especially against the length of FAU. Can those two generate enough space to get off perimeter jumpers? That's something to watch in this one.
If you’re looking for one area Liberty needs to shine in to compete against FAU, it's on the glass. Sure, FAU offers more size with the 7-footer Vlad Goldin, but the rotating duo of Shiloh Robinson and Zach Cleveland both provide terrific rebounding.
The Flames must limit FAU to only one shot per possession and not let the Owls find clean looks off of second shots.
Florida Atlantic Owls
Following a stunning Final Four run, Florida Atlantic’s sights remained on a national title. However, not having Alijah Martin healthy resulted in an early loss to Bryant, which shifted the betting markets on FAU.
Then the Owls went into the ESPN Events Invitational and walked out with three high-major wins, and the market is back where it started — like nothing ever happened.
The Owls also played their first complete game of the year against Virginia Tech, scoring 84 points and limiting the Hokies to 54 points. Hyper-aggressive on-ball defense keep Virginia Tech’s shooting in check, and Martin scored 17 points, a nice follow-up to his 25-point performance the game prior.
Surprisingly, FAU’s leading scorer isn’t Martin or Johnell Davis — it’s Goldin. He’s averaging 14 points and six rebounds in six games, and he’ll look to overwhelm Liberty's smaller frontcourt.
FAU is one of the most balanced teams in the country. Some days, Martin can drop 30, but other days eight players can drop 10+ points and make it look easy.
It's truly impressive the different ways FAU can beat you.
Liberty vs. Florida Atlantic
Betting Pick & Prediction
Liberty catching seven points is simply too many. I can’t lay the seven because I just trust this Liberty team too much.
Ritchie McKay and his veteran-laden bunch won’t get distracted by the cache of a team that made the Final Four last year.
The Flames are currently in the C-USA, just like FAU was last season. McKay won’t see this game as a mismatch, and his team will show up.
Pick: Liberty +7
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