NCAA March Madness: FAU Owls vs. Fairleigh Dickinson Knights betting preview, odds and predictions
In a 9 vs. 16 matchup in the East region of the NCAA Tournament, the FAU Owls take on the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights for a spot in the Sweet 16. All tournament long, VSiN will be providing you with March Madness betting odds, in-depth team analysis and expert college basketball picks. Make us your one-stop shop for all of your betting needs.
MORE: Check out the public betting splits for every college basketball game on the VSiN betting splits page
How to watch FAU vs. Fairleigh Dickinson
When: Sunday, 7:45 p.m. ET
Where: Columbus, Ohio
Watch: truTV
Odds for FAU vs. Fairleigh Dickinson
Spread: FAU -12.5
Total: 150.5
(Odds accurate as of Friday, March 17th at 11:00 p.m. ET)
Real-time betting splits at DraftKings Sportsbook
East Region No. 9 Seed FAU Owls
The Owls don’t have any legitimate superstars on their team, but they are one of the best three-point shooting groups in the field — which helped the team finish the regular season with a top-35 mark in adjusted offensive efficiency. While Florida Atlantic is a mid-major program, the team’s statistical profile reads more like a very good team from a big conference. With that in mind, the Owls are not a team that anybody will want to face the rest of the way. Not only is Florida Atlantic really good offensively, but the team can dig in and get some big stops, too. That first-round win over the Memphis Tigers should have been a statement for everybody else in the country.
East Region No. 16 Seed Fairleigh Dickinson Knights
Before the Knights became the second 16 to upset a No. 1 in NCAA history, a pretty decent argument could have been made that Fairleigh Dickinson was the worst team in the entire field. The Knights didn’t even win their own conference tournament, as they lost a 67-66 final to the Merrimack College Warriors. However, Merrimack is ineligible to play in the postseason, so Fairleigh Dickinson got the nod just for reaching the Northeast Conference Tournament final. The Knights had a pedestrian regular-season record and only two teams in the entire nation had a worse adjusted defensive efficiency this season. This is also the smallest team in the tournament.
FAU vs. Fairleigh Dickinson matchup analysis
Everybody on the planet loves a good upset — especially when it’s the rare No. 16 over No. 1 — but it definitely puts a little damper on the second round. While the Knights were able to shock the world and beat the Purdue Boilermakers last game, they’re a double-digit underdog against the Owls. And while a lot of people will surely bet Fairleigh Dickinson in this one, it’s hard to say the team shouldn’t be a sizable ‘dog.
The Knights deserve a lot of credit for how they were able to stop Zach Edey from getting the ball last game, and it was bold to play so far off the Boilermakers perimeter players. However, Purdue is a team that has historically struggled in the tournament, and a lot of people had doubts about how Matt Painter’s team would do in March. Now, the Knights will need to play a more normal game against an Owls team that doesn’t really have any holes.
The win over Purdue might have said otherwise, but Fairleigh Dickinson is one of the worst defensive teams in the country. That’s bad news as the team now faces a Florida Atlantic program that is 39th in the nation in Bart Torvik’s adjusted offensive efficiency metric. The Owls are also a top-40 team when it comes to both 2P% and 3P%, which goes to show that they can beat you from anywhere.
It wouldn’t be all that surprising if Fairleigh Dickinson were to find a way to hang around in the first half of this one. But this is a basketball team that is 21-15 on the year and faced weak competition all season. It’s only a matter of time before the magic wears off, and Florida Atlantic is definitely the type of team that can give the Knights a reality check.
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