Abilene Christian Wildcats vs Southern Utah Thunderbirds Betting Pick & Prediction 2/29/24

Planning on watching today’s Wildcats and Thunderbirds game? Catch the action at America First Events Center in Cedar City, UT, as the Thunderbirds hosts this showdown at 8:30 ET on ESPN+. The over/under line for this matchup is currently at 154 points, and Southern Utah is favored by -3.5 to win at home against Abilene Christian.

ABILENE CHRISTIAN WILDCATS VS SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Southern Utah Thunderbirds -3.5

This game will be played at America First Events Center at 8:30 ET on Thursday, February 29th.

WHY BET THE SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS:

• We have this one finishing with a projected score of 79-66 in favor of the Thunderbirds.
• Not only will Southern Utah pick up the win, but look for them to cover at -3.5.
• The over/under is currently sitting at 154 points, and we like the under with a projected 145 points.

Will Abilene Christian Find a Way to Win on the Road?

Abilene Christian is coming off a 79-73 win over Grand Canyon, and they are 12-15 overall. The Wildcats are 7-9 in Western Athletic Conference play and 5-6 in non-conference games. They have a four-game win streak, and their record as an underdog is 6-10.

On the road, Abilene Christian is 5-9 this season, and their average scoring margin is -7.0. Over their last ten games away from home, they are 2-8, and their record as an underdog is 5-4. So far, they have been the underdog in 16 of their 27 games.

Abilene Christian has an overall ATS record of 13-12 this season and they are 8-6 against the spread on the road. As the underdog, the Wildcats have gone 9-7 vs. the spread this year. Over their last three road games, Abilene Christian is 2-1 vs. the spread and they have a mark of 5-5 in their last 10 road games vs. the spread.

Abilene Christian’s over/under record this season is 14-10-1 and the average scoring total in their games is 145.4 points. Today’s over/under line of 154 is higher than the average OU line in their games (145.5). Over their last three games, the average scoring total is 137 points and their OU record during this span is 2-1.

Abilene Christian is fresh off a strong offensive showing, putting up 79 points versus Grand Canyon. This output is higher than their season-average of 72.9 points per game. Ali Abdou Dibba led the scoring for the Wildcats, contributing 24 points. Additionally, Kavion McClain chipped in with 12 points.

At present, the Wildcats’ defense is nationally ranked 233rd, allowing 74.5 points per game. In today’s game vs. Southern Utah, the Abilene Christian defense will be looking to do a better job avoiding putting opponents on the line. In their last game, Abilene Christian made 29 free-throws vs. the Wildcats.

Does Southern Utah Have What it Takes at Home?

After losing their last game to UT Arlington by a score of 90-85, Southern Utah will look to get back on track and snap their five-game losing streak. So far this season, they have gone 9-18, including a 4-12 record in Western Athletic Conference games. At home, they are 4-6 compared to their 3-12 record on the road.

As the favorite, the Thunderbirds have gone 4-3 this season, while they are 3-15 as the underdog. Their average scoring margin at home is -2.5 points per game, and their record over their last 10 games at home is 5-5. For the season, they have been outscored by an average of 5.0 points per game on the road.

As the favorite this season, Southern Utah has gone 4-3 vs. the spread. At home, their ATS mark is 5-5. Over their last 10 games as the favorite, the Thunderbirds have gone 5-5 vs. the spread.

So far this season, the over/under record in Southern Utah games is 14-11 and today’s line of 154 is higher than the average OU line in their games (148.5). Their last three games have averaged 158 points.

Coming off their recent game, the Southern Utah offense tallied 85 points in a matchup against UT Arlington. Their field goal percentage for the game was 51.7%, and they made 9 threes. Coming into the game, the Thunderbirds offense has strugled with their outside shot this season, hitting threes at a rate of just 29%. On average, they get up 20.8 three-point attempts per game and are averaging 16.6 made free-throws.

At present, the Thunderbirds’ defense is nationally ranked 284th, allowing 77.6 points per game. Southern Utah’s defense is coming off a game in which they allowed the UT Arlington offense to knock down 50% of their shots on their way to putting up 90 points.