The Central Arkansas Bears (13-15, 7-8 SthLnd) will travel to Moody Coliseum to square off against the Abilene Christian Wildcats (15-13, 7-8 SthLnd) in their home finale. Action begins at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 24, 2018.
Central Arkansas Bears at Abilene Christian Wildcats ATS Preview
In the Bears last contest, they were blown out by the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks, 97-62. Mathieu Kamba put together a solid performance for Central Arkansas, finishing with 13 points and eight rebounds. Stephen F. Austin had an effective field goal percentage of 0.654 (above their season average of 0.552). Central Arkansas, on the other hand, did a terrific job of converting from the free throw line (16-22; 72.7 percent).
The Wildcats are trying to rebound after their 76-67 loss to the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders in their last contest. With 17 points and seven rebounds, Abilene Christian’s Jaren Lewis had a good performance. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi had a turnover percentage of 16.1 (better than their season average of 20.8). Abilene Christian, on the other hand, had a free throw rate of 0.315 (above their season average of 0.229).
The aggressive Central Arkansas offense might be getting to the charity stripe a lot in this meeting. The Bears currently rank 95th in the NCAA with a free throw attempt (FTA) rate of 0.262, while Abilene Christian ranks 326th in FTA rate allowed (0.298).
Both teams have had a player heat up over their last five games. For the Bears, it’s been Kamba, who has averaged 18.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 blocks, while the Wildcats have received great contributions from Lewis (14.8 points and 12.0 rebounds).
These teams have already met once this season. The Wildcats won 80-63. The Wildcats dominated nearly every stat category in the game. They had a fantastic offensive rebounding percentage of 34.4 and a solid effective field goal percentage of 0.589. The Bears were 21.6 and 0.447, respectively, for those same stats. Despite the loss, Jordan Howard was the games leading scorer with 28 points.
Central Arkansas Bears at Abilene Christian Wildcats Betting Prediction
Free Prediction: SU Winner – Abilene Christian, ATS Winner – Abilene Christian, O/U – Under
Betting Notes:
- The Wildcats rank 22nd in blocks allowed per game (2.5) while the Bears rank 80th (3.1).
- Abilene Christian ranks 61st in assists per game (15.3) while Central Arkansas ranks 219th in assists allowed per game (14.9).
- The Bears rank 86th in rebounds per game (36.9) while the Wildcats rank 233rd (33.5).
- Abilene Christian ranks 16th in steals per game (8.1) while Central Arkansas ranks 142nd in steals allowed per game (6.6).
Betting Trends:
- The Wildcats have been outscored by an average of 4.6 points in their last five games. On the season, Abilene Christian has defeated opponents by an average of 3.5 points.
- During their last five games, the Bears have scored an average of 80.2 points per game (2.4 below their season average) and allowed an average of 85.8 points per game (5.3 above their season average).
