BURN THE HORSE
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| UALR at Troy 7:30 tonight Troy, Ala. Vegas says: UALR by 2.5 |
It’s the final game at Troy’s Sartain Arena today as UALR travels to
Troy in a matchup of Trojans.
UALR has already clinched a first-round bye in the Sun Belt Tournament
and now sets its sights on a West Division championship. UALR is two games
ahead of Louisiana-Lafayette, North Texas and Denver in the loss column. UALR
can’t clinch the outright West Division championship today but the Trojans can clinch
a co-championship with a victory.
Burn Notice
UALR needs a victory tonight to get to .500 for the first time since
mid-November.
BTH Keys to Victory
DON’T GET CAUGHT UP: Troy loves to shoot the three and ranks fifth
nationally in making 9.0 three-pointers per game. Troy doesn’t shoot a great
percentage (31 percent) and UALR can’t
get caught up in a three-point shooting contest. Troy is streaky and they made
11 in a row vs. Louisiana-Monroe earlier this year. Troy plays zone defense and
UALR has to attack it.
TURN, TURN, TURN: Both UALR and Troy are good at limiting turnovers.
Troy averages 12.8 per game while UALR averages 11.7. UALR is 9-6 when it has
fewer turnovers than its opponent. Winning the turnover battle could be vital.
TAKE ADVANTAGE: Depending on
lineups, UALR has the potential for 6-10 Will Neighbour to be guarded by a 6-5
player and 6-6 Courtney Jackson to be guarded by a 6-4 player. The Trojans have
to take advantage of those matchups.
FINE AT THE LINE: Free throws are always going to be important for
this UALR team. Troy goes to the free throw line six fewer times than its
opponents this season. UALR has to get to the line (and make them) more times
than Troy.
Vegas, baby
UALR is a 2.5-point favorite over Troy. UALR is 4-1 this season when
favored by Las Vegas.
Predictions
Three go with Troy and two with UALR. Only The Sports Network confident of a UALR victory.
Three go with Troy and two with UALR. Only The Sports Network confident of a UALR victory.
- Omni Rankings (14-7): Troy 71, UALR 70
- Jeff Sagarin (17-9): UALR 71, Troy 69
- CBS Sportsline (17-9): Troy 71, UALR 70
- The Sports Network (16-10): UALR 71, Troy 59
- Real Time RPI (15-11): Troy 69, UALR 64
- Combination: UALR 69, Troy 68
