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Northern Iowa Panthers (1-0) at Texas-Arlington Mavericks (1-0)
College Basketball: Saturday, November 10, 2018 at 8:00 pm (College Park Center)
The Line: Texas-Arlington Mavericks +4 -- Over/Under: 135.5 Click to Get Latest Betting Odds
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The Northern Iowa Panthers will travel to College Park Center to take on the UT-Arlington Mavericks this Saturday night in College Basketball action.
The Northern Iowa Panthers started off their season with a victory after defeating the D-II Bemidji State Beavers, 97-51, this past Tuesday. Northern Iowa came out on fire on the offensive end and had no trouble securing the victory after taking a 49-24 lead at halftime. Northern Iowa shot 44.6% from the field while holding Bemidji State to just 32.8% from the field and 13.6% (3-22) from beyond the arc. Northern Iowa outrebounded the Beavers by a 53-31 margin while also winning the turnover battle by a 15-5 margin. Leading the way for the Panthers was Wyatt Lohaus who had 19 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound and 2 steals. Isaiah Brown went 4-5 from beyond the arc and finished the game with 16 points, 3 rebounds and an assist. AJ Green also chipped in with 16 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds and a steal.
The UT-Arlington Mavericks had no trouble picking up their first win of the season in their season opener as they defeated the Texas-Tyler Patriots, 90-66, this past Tuesday. UT-Arlington had no trouble putting points on the board early as they went on a 21-0 run early in the 1st half and cruised to victory after going into halftime with a 51-25 lead. UT-Arlington shot 43.7% from the field and although they struggled from beyond the arc (7-28), they were solid on the FT-line as they shot 80.8 (21-26) in the victory. The Mavericks held the Patriots to just 39.3% shooting from the field and 28.1% shooting from beyond the arc. UT-Arlington outrebounded Texas-Tyler by a 42-31 margin and forced 24 turnovers in the victory. UT-Arlington’s starting five all scored in double figures and were led by Edric Dennis (20 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal), David Azore (15 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal), and Patrick Mwamba (13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals).
The Panthers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall however, are just 3-11-1 ATS in their last 15 road games. The Mavericks are 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 home games and 26-9 ATS in their last 35 non-conference games.
Northern Iowa had a disappointing 2017-18 campaign as the Panthers finished with just a 16-16 record while finishing conference play with an 7-11 record. The Panthers will have a tremendous backcourt led by AJ Green & Wyatt Lohaus who hopefully can help improve an offense that ranks just 339th in scoring offense. The Panthers are lacking a bit in the frontcourt however, they should once against be a solid defensive team as they finished last season ranked 4th in the country in scoring defense. UT-Arlington finished with 21 wins last season however, the season seemed like a disappointment as the Mavericks couldn’t capitalize on having an experienced starting five led by two great players in Kevin Hervey & Erick Neal. This is going to be a rebuilding year for the Mavericks and first year head coach Chris Ogden as the only player returning is DJ Bryant who averaged just 1.9 ppg & 1.4 rpg last season. The Mavericks will play an up-tempo style of basketball this season however, as they are quite unproven, it could be a tough year for the Mavericks.
Northern Iowa was able to defeat a much better UT-Arlington team last season at home and as that the Panthers backcourt should overwhelm the Mavericks defense, I’m taking Northern Iowa to cover this road spread.
Brett’s Pick Northern Iowa Panthers -4
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
