The UC Davis Aggies and Hawaii Rainbow Warriors both enter Thursday’s clash at 16-12 overall with the Aggies looking to protect their home court and maintain a top-three spot in the Big West.
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors vs. UC Davis Aggies (-1.5, 140)
UC Davis’ biggest strength has been its defense, ranking 61st in the nation in points allowed on a per-possession basis with much of its success coming from creating turnovers.
UC Davis is ranked 21st in turnovers forced per defensive play and now faces a Hawaii team that has had difficulty taking care of the ball, ranking 272nd in turnovers committed per offensive play.
The wasted possessions are all the more costly for Hawaii due to its inability to get second-chance opportunities, ranking 302nd in the nation in the percentage of missed shots that result in an offensive rebound at 23%.
Though UC Davis ranks just 263rd in points scored on a per-possession basis, it fields the best scorer in this matchup, Elijah Pepper, who ranks 31st among qualifying Division I players averaging 20 points per game.
UC Davis’ biggest difficulty, however, has been taking care of the ball on offense, ranking 329th in turnovers on a per-possession basis. But, it should have more clean possessions than normal considering Hawaii is ranked 263rd in turnovers forced on a per-possession basis on defense.
Despite committing nine more turnovers than UC Davis in the first meeting on Feb. 10, Hawaii won, 87-70 at home thanks to a 12-for-20 3-point shooting performance.
With UC Davis allowing opponents to shoot 31.7% from 3-point range at home this season and Hawaii ranking 197th nationally in 3-point shooting percentage, UC Davis will get its revenge on Thursday as its shooting numbers return to the mean.
The Play: UC Davis -1.5
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