Texas-Arlington vs Troy College Basketball Picks, Odds, Predictions 3/5/21

The Troy Trojans and the Texas-Arlington Mavericks meet Friday in college basketball action from Pensacola Bay Center. 

Coming into this Sun Belt Tournament matchup, Troy sits at 10-16 so far. The Trojans have lost seven straight, most recently to Coastal Carolina. As for Texas-Arlington, they’re 13-12 this year. The Mavericks have consecutive wins over Arkansas State in their last pair. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place. 

Troy was sitting at 6-9 back in late January, but then took a four-game win streak to get back over .500 again. Since then however, the Trojans have lost seven straight. Those defeats have come from Georgia Southern, South Alabama, Georgia State and Coastal Carolina. 

In the 76-71 loss to Coastal on Saturday, Troy’s Nick Stampley put up 24 points with nine rebounds to lead the team. Duke Miles added 19 points with eight assists and four rebounds, and Zay Williams had 11 points with six boards. 

Over on the TX-Arlington side, they held an 8-9 record in late January, but have gone a decent 5-3 since then. In that stretch, the Mavericks have wins over Arkansas State and UL Monroe around losses to Texas State and Louisiana. 

In the 64-56 win over Arkansas State on Saturday, UT-Arlington’s Patrick Mwamba put up 13 points with three rebounds to lead the team. Both Shahada Wells and David Azore scored 12 points, combining for 11 assists and 13 rebounds as well. 

The Mavericks are 5-2 ATS in their last seven neutral-site games and 0-5 ATS in their last five after an ATS win. UT Arlington is 0-4 ATS in their last four Friday games and 2-7 ATS in the last nine overall. 

Meanwhile, the Trojans are 5-2 ATS in their last seven Friday games and 1-4 ATS in their last five overall. Troy is 1-4 ATS in their last five after a straight-up loss and the under is 10-3 in the last 13 on Friday. 

PICK: I’m going to stick with UT Arlington. The Trojans have hit an offensive skid during this losing streak, hitting 70 points just twice in the last seven games. UT Arlington has had a few duds themselves lately, but for the most part they’re doing a good job on defense over the past several outings. This should be an interesting matchup but I think the Mavericks have the inside track on a cover.