The Incarnate Word Cardinals and the Jacksonville Dolphins meet Monday in CBI Tournament college basketball action from Ocean Center. Here’s an Jacksonville vs Incarnate Word Prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Incarnate Word vs Jacksonville pick.
Incarnate Word Betting Preview
The Cardinals had a bad run going back in January, but since then they’ve been able to right the ship a bit and improve their record. Incarnate Word opened the year on a 9-5 stretch, then took losses to Lamar, Houston Christian, Nicholls, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, UTRGV and SE Louisiana A 3-3 run came next with wins over New Orleans, Houston Christian and New Orleans again among losses to McNeese, SE Louisiana and Texas A&M-CC. The Cardinals would finish off the regular season on a 4-1 run with wins over UTRGV, Stephen F. Austin, Lamar and East Texas A&M, then beat SE Louisiana in the conference tourney before falling to Nicholls in OT. Incarnate Word bounced back Sunday with a CBI win over Manhattan, giving the Cardinals an 18-16 overall record this year.
In their Saturday matchup versus Manhattan, the Cardinals scored 47 points in the first half and 45 more in the second for a 92-85 win in the end. Leading the way was Dylan Hayman with 25 points and seven boards, while Jordan Pyke doubled up on 23 points and 11 rebounds.
Jacksonville Dolphins Betting Preview
Over on the Dolphins’ side, they had a very nice run going in January, however they’ve been pretty choppy otherwise this season. Jacksonville opened on a spotty 6-7 run with wins over Trinity Baptist, South Carolina State, Virginia Tech, Siena, Florida Tech and East Tennessee State. Wins over Austin Peay, Bellarmine, Eastern Kentucky, North Alabama, Central Arkansas, West Georgia and Queens came next, then a 3-5 run with losses to Florida Gulf Coast, North Florida, North Alabama, Florida Gulf Coast again and North Florida again. The Dolphins would take wins over Eastern Kentucky (twice) and Stetson in the next three, then fell to North Alabama in the ASUN Championship Tournament semifinal. That gives the Dolphins a 19-13 overall record across 32 games so far this year.
In the matchup with North Alabama back on March 6, the Dolphins came out of the first half with a 35-23 deficit. Jacksonville hit a 43-40 disadvantage the rest of the way and ended up falling 78-63 in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Robert McCray with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists in 32 minutes of action. Jakari Spence added 14 points with four steals, two assists and two rebounds, while Chris Arias led the bench scoring on 12 points with one rebound in 28 minutes on the floor during the losing effort.
Why the Jacksonville Dolphins will win
- Jacksonville has won eight of its last nine day games against non-Conference opponents.
- Incarnate Word has lost 24 of its last 31 day games against non-Conference opponents.
- Jacksonville has won the first half in each of its last four games against non-AP-ranked opponents at a neutral venue.
Why the Incarnate Word Cardinals will win
- Incarnate Word has won each of its last four day games against non-Conference opponents.
- Jacksonville has lost nine of its last 10 Monday games against non-Conference opponents.
- Incarnate Word has won the first half in each of its last four day games against non-Conference opponents.
Total Points Facts
- Eight of Incarnate Word’s last nine games against non-Conference opponents have produced a total of 147+ points.
- Nineteen of Jacksonville’s last 23 day games against non-Conference opponents have produced a total of 140 or fewer points.
Matchup/League Facts
- Jacksonville ranks T48th among Division 1 teams for blocks per game this season (4.5).
- Incarnate Word ranks 7th among Division 1 teams for opponent three-point field goal attempts per game this season (18.0).
- Incarnate Word ranks 19th among Division 1 teams for three-point percentage this season (38.2%).
Jacksonville vs Incarnate Word Prediction
I’m going to stay with the Dolphins. Jacksonville hasn’t be on the court for a while though, so they’ll need to get off to a good start here. In their loss to North Alabama, the Dolphins shot a rough 36.2 percent from the field but did well from the line (14-of-16 for 87.5 percent) and were fairly competitive on the boards with 32 rebounds. The 11 turnovers for 16 Lions points really buried the Dolphins though, as did the 49 percent shooting allowed on the other side. Jacksonville had scored a combined 157 points in their previous two outings, so the 63 points were quite a disappointment. I’d like to see Jacksonville get across the 70-point threshold here. If they can pull that off, the Dolphins should be in great position cover-wise.
As for Incarnate Word, they played well against a decent Manhattan team on Sunday, hitting 56.1 percent from the field with a 39-30 rebounding edge and just seven turnovers. The Cardinals will be a solid test for Jacksonville, but I think the Dolphins power it out in the end if all goes well. Should be a pretty good matchup and a fun one to watch.