San Diego St. vs Florida Atlantic – Game preview, betting favorites and more

The NCAA Tournament is nearing its conclusion as San Diego State will face Florida Atlantic in a Final Four matchup.

Neither of the teams were expected to remain at this stage of the tournament.

Florida Atlantic (35-3) is the largest seed remaining in the tournament as they entered as a No. 9 seed before winning the East region. The Owls took down No. 8 Memphis 66-65, No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson 78-70, No. 4 Tennessee 62-55 and No. 3 Kansas State 79-76 on their route through the tournament.

The Owls won the most games in college basketball this season, climbing to 25th in the final AP poll. They rank 37th in the country in scoring by producing 78 points per game. FAU attempts 26.4 3-point attempts per game, which is 20th in the country, and connects on 36.5% of these attempts, which is the 56th best rate.

They are led by 6-foot-4 guard Johnell Davis, who averages 13.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. His ability to maneuver to his spots and create his own shots is necessary on the roster. However, it is far from a one-man team as there are eight different players averaging more than five points per game.

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Florida Atlantic will face off against San Diego State (31-6), which entered the tournament as the No. 5 seed in the South region. The Aztecs produced victories over No. 12 Charleston 63-57, No. 13 Furman 75-52, No. 1 Alabama 71-64 and No. 6 Creighton 57-56 to reach the Final Four.

The Aztecs play a hard-nosed defensive style, which has given teams trouble thus far. During the regular season, they held opponents to just 62.9 ppg, which is the 25th best rate in the country. Opponents shot just 27.9% on 3-point attempts and 40.8% from the field, which are the third and 35th best rates.

This has remained true in the tournament, as only Alabama has eclipsed 57 points against them. Alabama entered the matchup as the seventh-best scoring team in the country at 81.8 ppg, but were held to just 64 points. They shot 23-for-71 (32.4%), inclduding 3-for-27 (11.1%) on 3-point attempts in the loss to the Aztecs.

San Diego State also has a team-oriented style of play on the offensive end. The Aztecs rotate substitutes regularly and have eight players averaging over six points per game.

San Diego State vss. Florida Atlantic betting odds

The Vegas lines indicates that this will be a close game as San Diego State is considered a narrow two-point favorite. Florida Atlantic are considered +110 underdogs, while the over/under is set at 130 points.

Whichever way the matchup goes, expect it to be a hard-nosed battle with both teams leaning on their defense. It may sound simple, but whichever team is able to muster up more offense and make shots will be in the driver’s seat, but both of these teams have proven they will not go down without a fight.

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