11/7 Three Ball Write-Up

(photo: UNI Athletics)

Season Record: 3-0

Season Best Bet Record: 1-0

11/7 Card:

FGCU +12

Northern Iowa +5

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FGCU +12 : I believe that Dunk City is in a for a huge year. They are my pick to earn the NCAAT bid out of the A-SUN. Pat Chambers had this team flying out of the gates last year in his first season in Fort Myers. The Eagles knocked off Southern Cal (I will never refer to them as USC. Get over it. Go Cocks) in their opener last season in impression fashion. It was not a fluky result and was graded as a Shot Quality win also:

FGCU used this momentum to get out to a 12-3 record in their first 15 games. The team struggled down the stretch and didn’t reach their full potential, but I firmly believe it will be realized this season. Chambers is returning essentially his entire roster for this year. 13 upperclassmen. I think they could get out to another hot start this year, and there is an edge in this matchup that I believe will help this team settle in for a fight in Assembly Hall. Both the point guard and head coach are Big 10 veterans. Chambers spent close to a decade as the head coach of Penn State, and Isaiah Thompson was a Boilermaker for three seasons. This experience will be vital to carry the squad through a grueling night in one of the best home atmospheres in the country. I also see an edge on the perimeter for FGCU. Chase Johnston is one of the best shot makers that we have in the game. Johnston and his teammates made 295 threes a season ago. The Eagles return over 200 of those threes this season. Meanwhile, the Hoosiers connected on 187 … but only 46 of those makes are returning for this season. I am not impressed with the roster reconstruction in Bloomington following the departures of TJD and Hood-Schifino. I have a sneaky suspicion we will see a heavy dosage of Xavier Johnson hero ball. We all know how that experience turns out.

Isaiah Thompson is listed as a GTD (I am hearing that he is going to play), but this is still a play for me at 12 even in his absence. I would be shocked if the game ever stretches over 12 for Indiana. Should be a fun one.

Score Prediction: Indiana 74 – FGCU 66

Northern Iowa +5 : We locked this one in early last night, and it was for good reason. Buy. Stock. Now. Northern Iowa is one of my favorite mid-major rosters in the country this season. Everyone is back this year. With another year of experience under their belts, this team will be contending with Drake for a Valley championship. Let’s start at the point guard position. Bowen Born is one of the best PG’s in the country. Don’t believe me? Tune into this game tonight. His basketball IQ is second to none. He reminds me of a mixture of Tyler Ulis and Storm Murphy. He is an absolute gamer and will be up for this one. Also, the Panthers are getting the heart and soul of this team back. Nate Heise was lost for the year after the 2nd game of the season a year ago. They never were able to fill his shoes. He brings energy and intensity on both ends of the court and is a clear captain of the team. Tytan Anderson is another another impressive player on this roster. He could get minutes anywhere in the country on the wing. He picked up where he left off last season in UNI’s most recent scrimmage

Picking up where he left off! Tytan Anderson is tonight's @KwikStar Star of the Game after a 17-point, ten-rebound double-double!#EverLoyal #1UNI #Family pic.twitter.com/5aETAzDKxv

— UNI Basketball (@UNImbb) November 2, 2023

If you have the recent successes of North Texas in your mind and it is making you shy away, don’t fret. This is not our usual North Texas team. Grant McCasland left the program to take the head coaching job at Texas Tech. Ross Hodge has been on staff, but we have seen how that has played out before. It does not always guarantee continuity in a program. Hodge has also never been at head coach at the D1 level. He has a tough matchup on his hands going up against the decorated Ben Jacobson in his first game at the helm. This coaching edge is a huge factor in my handicap tonight. The Mean Green also lost their pillars of the last few years to the portal. Tylor Perry and Abou Ousmane will be greatly missed on this roster. It does not appear that they properly replenished their scoring abilities through the portal.

I have Northern Iowa winning the game, and this is my Best Bet of the night. The Shot Quality model also agrees with me and has 5.6 points of perceived value on a UNI ticket at the current number of 4.

Score Prediction: Northern Iowa 67 – North Texas 64

Best of luck! Let’s snipe this one y’all!!