Tip off: 8 PM EST
Spread: ORA -7.5
Total: 130.5
M/L: ORA -335, ARK +285
Odds taken from Bookmaker
ORAL ROBERTS
While Oral Roberts dominated play in the Summit Conference, going 13-5, they only posted a 6-11 out of conference record.
While Oral Roberts doesn’t look to have the amplitude to make any kind of national run, contending in the Summit league is a much more reasonable proposition. Before dropping last game 14 to Oklahoma, the Golden Eagles had run off a 6 game win streak that included wins over Missouri State and, well, no other teams of note.
They are led by the quartet of Dominique Morrison (16.8 ppg), Michael Craion (12.3 ppg), Steven Roundtree (12.2 ppg), and Warren Niles (10.4 pgg). Those four account for nearly three-quarters of the Golden Eagles’ offense.
While Morrison may only be averaging in the mid-teens, he did put up a 30 point game in the win over Southern Methodist on November 21st. That night, Morrison connected on 10 of 16 field goals, and got to the line 10 times, hitting 7, while also dialing up 3 of 6 from long range. The 6’6″ senior figures to be one of the main reasons the Golden Eagles can win the Summit Conference.
The Golden Eagles haven’t made the NCAA tournament in 4 years, but of course a conference championship would change that. Niles, a 6’4″ shooting guard will have to continue to develop, and point guard Roderick Pearson must become a better floor general. Despite playing nearly 30 minutes a game, the 6’2″ senior is only averaging 2.3 assists per game, while the Golden Eagles only average 13.0 assists per game, 168th in the nation.
ARKANSAS LITTLE ROCK
Last season could be called a success for the Trojans. Despite only finishing 19-17 and losing 7 of their last 10 conference games, they won the Sun Belt tournament which gave them their berth. It’s surprising since they fared so poorly in conference play, giving up 1.03 points per possesion (7th in the conference), while scoring a less than impressive (though 2nd in the conference) 1.03 points per possession.
Trojans Coach Steve Shields loses Solomon Bozeman for the year, and it won’t be easy to make it back to March Madness.
The 5’10” sophomore Chuck Guy will be one of the guys who has to step up and fill the void left by Bozeman. So far, Guy is averaging 10.4 points per game and 1.5 steals per game, but he does only turn it over 1.4 times a game, as well. Teammate Will Neighbor has contributed a big chunk of the scoring as well (10.7 points per game), though he has scored in double figures in only 6 of the 10 games.
After starting the season out a decent 2-1, the Trojans went on to drop 5 of their next 6 and now sit at 3-7. They don’t face a ranked opponent until January 3rd though when they take on the #3 Wildcats of Kentucky, so that will give them some time to prepare before what could be their only national television game of the year if they fail to make it back in March.
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