UAB Blazers vs. Old Dominion Monarchs Prediction & Game Preview - 2/13/2022

Time: 2 p.m. ET

Venue: Chartway Arena, Norfolk, VA

Where to watch: ESPNU

DraftKings: UAB -8

BetMGM: NL

Caesars: UAB -8

UAB: 19-5 (9-2 C-USA)

Old Dominion: 9-15 (4-7 C-USA)

UAB: won six of seven

Old Dominion: lost three straight

It's kind of funny that we're looking at Conference USA this year as a potential two-team entry into the NCAA tournament. 

How we fit the UAB Blazers into the tournament come March might be the biggest hurdle if the North Texas Mean Green are really the cream of the crop in that conference right now, but it is very difficult to overlook UAB when they have 19 wins this season and are currently the second-best team in this conference.

But a 20 win season for the Blazers does not seem to be that far out of reach, and with them on the roads take on the Old Dominion Monarchs on Sunday, I like UAB’s chances to cover and get that milestone victory.

This tends to happen every year by the time we get to conference play in college basketball. There is always a team or two, or sometimes five or six, that tend to go above and beyond the Call of Duty within their respective conference and shock some people along the way. The Blazers are one of those teams this year, winning nine of their first 11 conference games and having won 10 of 12 overall.

The Blazers are also in a good groove right now in terms of their last two games. They are coming off a 21 point victory on Thursday against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, led by the red hot Jordan Walker. UAB’s leading scorer followed up a 42-point performance against Middle Tennessee State on Feb. 5 with 25 points after a 9 of 9 stretch at the free-throw line.

Walker is likely going to be the conference's player of the year when all this is said and done. All you have to do is look at his last five games and see just how ridiculous he has been. In that epic performance against Middle Tennessee State, Walker made 61% of his shots and also made half of his three-point attempts. In two of his last three games, Walker has had eight assists in the game but was held to just 23 points in the January 29th loss to Marshall.

The ball goes to Walker aplenty this season. He's making 42% of his shots while connecting on 41% from 3 point range and is drilling an absurd 90% from the free-throw line. If you're looking for a potential first-round steal in this upcoming draft, you might not need to look any further than the junior from Port Washington, NY.

There's also just that want of wanting to see a program not really known for being in the NCAA tournament to get to the tournament and have a superstar to rely on. That's where Walker comes in to this whole ordeal. We've seen guys like Steph Curry and others get the opportunity on the college basketball extravaganza, and have performed as well as anyone could have possibly imagined. Walker could be that candidate should the chips fall the way that we expect them to.

The Blazers have also been tremendous when it comes to the spread this season as well. UAB is 14-7-1 overall despite going 2-2-1 in the past five. UAB has been favored by aplenty in their last few games, notably against Southern Miss. A 21 point victory would be acceptable on any given night except the sports book. The Blazers were favored by 23 1/2 in that win on Thursday.

Don't be surprised if the Blazers are favored by double digits for the 4th consecutive game. Old Dominion has failed to cover in 14 of its 23 games this season and following their 15 point loss to Middle Tennessee State on Thursday, the monarchs have failed to cover in three straight. They have been underdogs in those three games.

Old Dominion has lost by double digits in each of those three games. Only one player scored in double figures in the 15 point loss to Middle Tennessee on Thursday and that was Austin Trice with 18 points. Old Dominion as a team shot just 34% from the floor and only took 12 three-point attempts, missing 10 of them.

If you're a team contending for a spot in the NCAA tournament, the most important thing you can do at this point is to take care of the teams that you're supposed to beat. The Blazers have done that to this point and I see no reason why they can't continue that trend on Sunday against a heavily struggling Old Dominion team. UAB by 20

UAB is 16-4 ATS after a game where they make at least 78 percent of their free throws.

UAB is 46-73 ATS after winning eight or more of their last 10 games.

Old Dominion is 3-10 ATS when playing their third game in a week.

PG: Jordan Walker

SG: Quan Jackson

SF: Tavin Lovan

PF: K.J. Buffen

C: Trey Jemison

PG: Jaylin Hunter

SG: C.J. Keyser

SF: Austin Trice

PF: Mekhi Long

C: Kalu Ezikpe

Points: Jordan Walker -- 19.7

Rebounds: Trey Jemison -- 7.4

Assists: Jordan Walker -- 4.6

Points: C.J. Keyser -- 14.5

Rebounds: Austin Trice -- 8.5

Assists: Jaylin Hunter -- 4.4