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The UAB Blazers take on the FAU Owls. Our C-USA Championship odds series has our UAB FAU prediction and pick. Find out how to watch UAB FAU.
The college basketball season has been a showcase for one non-traditional basketball school. Florida Atlantic has captured the attention of basketball fans and analysts everywhere. The Owls have won 30 games and lost only three. Even if they lose this game, they are certain to be in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Did anyone have that on his or her list of projections before the start of the regular season? Florida Atlantic is not an annual force in college basketball. It does not regularly make the NCAA Tournament. It doesn't have any sort of rich basketball legacy, tradition or heritage. This school has lived in obscurity in terms of basketball. It didn't even have a Division I college football program 35 years ago. The school became a Division I program in 1993. The program has one NCAA Tournament appearance, in 2002, and zero NCAA Tournament victories. Yet, the Owls are in line for a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament, maybe No. 9, depending on the outcome of this game.
Florida Atlantic will be supported by all bubble teams in this game against UAB. If FAU wins, UAB does not make the field. If FAU loses, however, UAB gets in and shrinks the bubble by one spot. The various teams near the bubble cut line will know their odds just dropped slightly. FAU winning this game keeps that extra bubble spot open for another team. All eyes will be on this game.
Here are the UAB-FAU C-USA Championship odds, courtesy of FanDuel:
C-USA Championship Odds: UAB-FAU Odds
UAB Blazers: -1.5 (-112)
FAU Owls: +1.5 (-108)
Over: 148.5 (-110)
Under: 148.5 (-110)
How To Watch UAB vs. FAU
TV: CBS Sports Network
Stream: CBSSports.com
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET, 5:30 p.m. PT
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*Watch UAB-FAU LIVE with fuboTV (Click for free trial)*
Why UAB Could Cover The Spread
If there is a team which can win the Conference USA Tournament instead of FAU, we were going to get our answer in Friday's C-USA Tournament semifinal between third-seeded UAB and second-seeded North Texas. Those two teams were clearly the main challengers to Florida Atlantic all season long. UAB stormed out of the blocks with a 22-2 run and scored a decisive win over North Texas to make this final.
UAB is coached by Andy Kennedy, the former coach at Ole Miss who guided the Rebels to the Round of 32 in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. Kennedy has been around the block, and he has built a solid program at UAB. The Blazers have an established basketball identity and would make a perfectly logical fit in the NCAA Tournament. Lots of people in the college basketball industry felt before the season that UAB, not FAU, would win Conference USA. Now the Blazers — beaten by FAU in the regular season — can strike back and win the one game which counts the most: the game which delivers an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Why FAU Could Cover The Spread
The Owls have been the best team in in Conference USA all season long. They're 30-3. They handled the pressure of the Conference USA semifinals on Friday, fending off Middle Tennessee. They are battle-tested. They don't get rattled. They win. They will win game number 31 here.
Final UAB-FAU Prediction & Pick
Trusting Florida Atlantic has been a good idea this season, but UAB has special motivation for the NCAA Tournament. Stay away from this game.
Final UAB-FAU Prediction & Pick: UAB -1.5
