Pick on the spread for Utah Tech-Stephen F Austin on March 7

The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks have appeared in the last five NCAA Tournaments in the Southland Conference and are now in search of a WAC Tournament Title as they take on the Utah Tech Trailblazers in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

Utah Tech Trailblazers vs. Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (-1.5, 147.5)

Stephen F. Austin finds success by generating turnovers, creating turnovers on 24% of possessions in games played on the road, good for second in the nation.

While the Lumberjacks excel in creating turnovers on defense, they struggle to take care of the ball on offense, ranking 343rd and turning the ball over on 21.1% of their possessions.

Fortunately for Stephen F. Austin, Utah Tech ranks 339th in the nation in turnovers per possession on offense but generates an average of 2.6 turnovers per game fewer.

Both teams have plenty of players that can hit 3-pointers, primarily Jacob Nicolds, who makes 50% of his 3-point shots, tied for seventh among qualifying Division I players.

While Utah Tech has Nicolds, Stephen F. Austin has the better percentage as a team, ranking 12th in the nation in overall 3-point shooting percentage at 38.5%. That total has elevated to 41.8% in games played on the road, good for second in the nation.

It should be noted that Stephen F. Austin has been dealing with injuries to starters Nana Antwi-Boasiako and top scorer Sadaidriene Hall but Hall’s absence in the team’s final regular-season finale loss to Utah Valley was likely for rest purposes.

Even if both Hall and Antwi-Boasiako were to miss Tuesday’s game, Stephen F. Austin has the depth to overcome it. When these teams last faced on Jan. 12, Stephen F. Austin picked up an 85-72 road win with 10 different players registering at least 10 minutes. As a squad, they forced 25 turnovers.

The Lumberjacks’ high-pressure style defense is hard to prepare for and in the two previous matchups, the Trailblazers lost by an average margin of 21.5 points.

Even with Stephen F. Austin’s injury concerns, this is an unfavorable matchup for Utah Tech. Unfortunately for the Trailblazers, what happens in Vegas will not stay in Vegas as the winner will represent the WAC in the NCAA Tournament.

The Play: Stephen F. Austin -1.5

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