The UAB Blazers and BYU Cougars face off on Saturday in a college basketball showdown in the Independence Bowl at Independence Stadium. This is the first meeting ever between the two teams.
The UAB Blazers come into this game with an 8-4 record overall and they have gone 8-3-1 against the spread. In the last game against UTEP, UAB’s offense was strong, scoring 42 points and that led to the big victory. UAB is averaging 29.4 points while their defense is giving up 22.83 points per game. It hasn’t been always the prettiest this season for UAB, but they have done a good job of closing out games late. Under center for UAB is Dylan Hopkins who has thrown for 2,085 yards, 15 touchdowns, and six interceptions.
On the other side of this matchup is the BYU Cougars who have made it clear they feel they should be in a better bowl, so it will be interesting to see how motivated they are to play this game. BYU currently sits with a 10-2 record overall and they have gone 5-7 against the spread. BYU has won five games in a row including the last game against USC where they won by four points. BYU is averaging 43.5 points while their defense is giving up 15.3 points per game. Under center for BYU is Jaren Hall and he has thrown for 2,583 yards, 20 touchdowns, and five interceptions.
UAB is 4-0 against the spread in their last four games against a team with a winning record. The under is 7-0 in BYU’s last seven games against Conference-USA. The over is 4-1 in UAB’s last five games overall. The under is 7-0 in BYU’s last seven games against the Conference-USA.
I think BYU is going to be well motivated for this game, and they are going to find plenty of offensive success. UAB doesn’t have the offense to keep up in this game, and it’s going to get ugly early. Back BYU to cover the spread. In terms of the total, I do believe that this game will also go over the total.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
Mitch's Take...
