FAU vs. Memphis College Basketball prediction, preview
Memphis is not off to the start it hoped this season, but for a team in the AAC it’s played plenty of tough tests thus far. Again, the Tigers didn’t envision a 9-10 record at this point on the calendar, but the struggles have been almost completely isolated to playing away from home. Memphis is 1-8 away from its own building, with neutral floor losses to Purdue and Wake Forest — both of which Memphis covered as the underdog.
The Tigers are 1-6 in true road games, and coming off a pair of road losses in the conference, priced as the underdog in each. Now they get to return home, where things have gone much better for Penny Hardaway and company. Memphis is 8-2 on its home floor this season, including 7-3 ATS, winning games by an average of 10.3 points per.
Those two home losses came early in the season to UNLV, and then in overtime to one of the elite teams in the country in Vanderbilt. As I mentioned, this Memphis team has been tested in the early going. Outside of the teams I mentioned, the Tigers have also faced Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Louisville and have a win on their home court over Baylor.
I expect to see the sharp version of Memphis that we’ve seen at FedExForum the majority of the season, particularly coming off two losses. The matchup also presents a good opportunity for the Tigers to get revenge for a road loss to these Owls earlier this month. FAU has been beatable of the road at 3-4, and is just 1-5 straight up when priced as the underdog this season. On the flip side, Memphis has posted an 8-1 record when favored.
While the Tigers have struggled on offense, their defense will be the best unit on the floor (ranking 35th on KenPom), and I expect that to provide them with an edge in this game. I’ll back Memphis to continue to show up at home and pull away with a much needed victory to improve to .500.
