Since leaving the WAC for the Big West, the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors have experienced a resurgence. Their record has improved in each of the following four seasons and last year they won their first tournament game ever by knocking off the Cal Bears as a No. 13 seed. This season, Hawaii is barred from postseason play sadly, but still looking to make some noise where it can. One of its first big chances will be when it takes on the Florida Atlantic Owls in what will be one of a handful of nationally televised games this season.
At 4:15 a.m. ET, tune into ESPN2 for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Tuesday, November 15, 2016, at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.
College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
The Rainbow Warriors were a sparkling 28-6 SU last season, but the ATS record was an above average 15-13 mark. Down the stretch, Hawaii had some big problems covering games in which it was favored, with a 2-4 ATS mark in that situation.
Florida Atlantic finished with the second-worst record in Conference USA last season and the Owls looked totally outmatched much of the season. FAU faltered to a 12-19 ATS mark thanks to shoddy scoring output and 18 of its 31 games finished under the total.
Key Stat
Zero returning starters. Hawaii is in a world of trouble due to the fallout of a scandal involving former head coach Gib Arnold and the threat of an impending postseason ban caused many to either transfer or declare early for the NBA. Virtually all of last season’s production is gone as only one player who averaged more than 10 minutes a game is now on the roster.
That player is Sheriff Drammeh and his numbers were not good last season. Drammeh hit just 35.4 percent of his field goals and 52.6 percent of his free throws in his role as the last rotation option. He is now the leader of an extremely young and inexperienced team and will need to improve dramatically. Drammeh shot well in Hawaii’s exhibition game against BYU-Hawaii but still has plenty of work to do.
Players to Watch
The Owls had a rough season in 2015-16, but do return their two most talented players in Ronald Delph and Adonis Filer. Both Delph and Filer are transfers from much bigger schools and both had growing pains in their first season.
While Delph’s pains were more minute, Filer’s were apparent any time he stepped on the court. Teams quickly learned that he was turnover-prone and a poor shorter, a combination that doesn’t work well for anyone, much less a guard. Filer also dug himself in holes as he kept on shooting despite hitting less than 40 percent from the floor and 30 percent from three.
If the Owls want to have a winning record this year, Filer and Delph are going to play a big role.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Each of these teams has plenty of question marks. For Hawaii, the entire roster is a question mark. Drammeh didn’t play much last season and the person likely to be the second biggest contributor is a transfer student. Head coach Eran Ganot was able to get a lot out of a veteran team last season, but this is an entirely new challenge.
The Owls will be trying to turn things around, but most need to improve on the glass. Florida Atlantic was dismantled on the boards last season, being one of the worst 15 teams in the nation in terms of rebounding differential. FAU was outboarded by 6.3 RPG and that number is unacceptable if you want to win at any level.
Both these teams have a lot of question marks so under is the play here. Look for something very low scoring as these teams experiment to see what works and what doesn’t.
College Basketball Odds: Hawaii 61, Florida Atlantic 57
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