Florida Atlantic vs Wichita State Prediction 2/20/25 College Basketball Picks Today

The Wichita State Shockers and the Florida Atlantic Owls meet Thursday in college basketball action from Eleanor R Baldwin Arena. Here’s a Florida Atlantic vs Wichita State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Florida Atlantic vs Wichita State pick.

Wichita State Shockers Betting Preview

Wichita State had an extended rough stretch of games back in December and January, but aside from that they’ve been pretty good record-wise this year. The Shockers won eight of their first nine games, taking out Western Kentucky, Montana State, Northern Iowa, Monmouth, Saint Louis, Minnesota, Alcorn State, and East Tennessee State in that time. A 3-9 run came next with wins over Kansas State, Friends U, and Charlotte. The losses otherwise were versus DePaul, Kansas City, Temple, South Florida, UTSA, East Carolina, Memphis, Tulsa, and North Texas. Since then Wichita State has recovered with four straight wins, taking out Charlotte, South Florida, UTSA, and Memphis in that time. Overall through the first 25 games of the season that gives the Shockers a 15-10 record so far.

In the Memphis home rematch on Sunday, the Shockers were up by four points at the break. Wichita State needed overtime in the end, but they’d eventually power out the upset victory 84-79. Leading the team in the big win was Quincy Ballard with 19 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks. Corey Washington doubled up with his 18 points and 15 rebounds in 41 minutes, while Bijan Cortes had 13 points with six rebounds and four assists in 37 minutes. Tops in scoring off the bench was Harlond Beverly with 11 points, six assists, and two blocks.

Florida Atlantic Owls Betting Preview

Over on the Florida Atlantic side, they’ve had a pretty choppy year in spots but they’ve been able to maintain the same record in the books. The Owls went 4-5 in their first nine outings, falling versus UCF, Charleston, Drake, Seton Hall, and Florida Gulf Coast among wins versus Indiana State, Coastal Georgia, Liberty, and Oklahoma State. A 5-2 run came next with losses to Michigan State and Memphis among wins over FIU, Jacksonville, Texas State, East Carolina, and Charlotte. After a 1-3 run with a win over Rice among losses to UAB, Tulane and North Texas, Florida Atlantic hit a winning streak. Those victories have come versus UTSA, South Florida, Tulsa, Charlotte, and Temple, giving the Owls a 15-10 record through 25 games this season.

Matched up against Temple on Sunday, the Owls held a 40-35 deficit coming into the second half. FAU hit a 48-41 run the rest of the way however, leading to an 83-81 comeback victory. Tre Carroll led the way among starters in the win with 16 points, seven boards, and one assist with four blocks. Tops on the team in total was Kaleb Glenn with 17 points, five rebounds, one assist, and one steal in 32 minutes off the bench. Leland Walker added 12 points with two assists and two steals in 21 minutes of work as well.

Why the Florida Atlantic Owls will win

• Florida Atlantic has won 38 of its last 41 games at Abessinio Court at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Wichita State has lost eight of its last nine Thursday night road games against the American Athletic Conference.
• Florida Atlantic has won the first half in each of its last eight night games at Abessinio Court at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the Wichita State Shockers will win

• Wichita State has won each of its last four games.
• Wichita State has won the first half in seven of its last eight road night games against the American Athletic Conference.

Florida Atlantic vs Wichita State Prediction

I’ll try Florida Atlantic here. You could make a case either way, though. This should be a pretty good matchup if both teams play to their capabilities. FAU started slowly in their latest road win over Temple but ultimately finished with a decent effort. The Owls went just 5-of-24 (20.8 percent) from the line though, and had 12 turnovers for 15 Temple points. Still, the victory keeps FAU’s run going. They’ve now got five wins in a row, hitting 79 or more points in each of those outings (and 83 or more in four of them).

As for Wichita State, they logged a great effort versus a talented Memphis team in their upset win Over the weekend. The Shockers hit just 40 percent from the field but also notched a 54-45 rebounding edge and had only eight turnovers. This should be another dramatic game, but I like the Owls to take it at home in the end.