For those who love offense, Sunday’s American Athletic Conference game between UAB and host Florida Atlantic should produce plenty of points.

These are the highest scoring teams in the AAC, with UAB averaging 84.8 points and FAU averaging 82.3 points.

A year ago, UAB earned the automatic bid as a fourth seed by winning the AAC tournament, while FAU, a Final 4 team in 2023 that played in Conference USA, earned an outright bid in its first AAC season.

UAB (9-7, 2-1) lost its first AAC game, 78-75 at North Texas, but bounced back to win its last two AAC home games, 83-51 against Tulsa and 81-69 on Tuesday against Tulane . Yaxel Lendeborg, a 6-foot-9 senior who was a first-team All-AAC player last year, had 25 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.

For all the offense it creates, UAB is a below-average three-point shooting team. The Blazers rank eighth in the AAC in three-point percentage (.328). FAU shoots .349 from distance.

FAU struggled for consistency at the foul line (.697) while UAB shot .761.

FAU (9-7, 2-1) also lost its first AAC game 90-62 at home to Memphis before winning its next two road games. The Owls defeated East Carolina 78-76 and Charlotte 75-64.

Baba Miller, a 6-foot-11 junior from Spain, led FAU with totals of 20 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.

UAB at Florida Atlantic betting odds

Florida Atlantic is the 3.5-point favorite in college basketball at BetMGM against UAB with an over/under of 163.5.

The moneyline for FAU is -165 while for UAB it is +140.

UAB on Florida Atlantic on TV

The game between UAB and Florida Atlantic will be televised on ESPN.

It launches on Sunday, January 12th at 5:00 p.m. ET.

UAB at Florida Atlantic Prediction

I like that FAU sets the points. The Owls are just 3-2 at home, but their last game in Boca Raton was a loss to AAC favorite Memphis. Last year, the Owls beat UAB at home by 13 points.

Both UAB and FAU will bring their track and field shoes.

UAB in particular will want to run, run and run some more. The Blazers entered the weekend second in the country in scoring at 19.44 points per game.

FAU likes to run, but isn’t quite as effective in the transition process as UAB. The Owls are averaging 14.19 fast break points per game, or 47^Th nationwide entry into the weekend.

What’s interesting is that FAU has a higher adjusted tempo (number of possessions per 40 minutes), according to Kenpom.com. The Owls started the weekend with an adjusted pace of 72.2, or 27^Th Nationally, UAB was at 70.6, which ranked 74th.

The reason so much offense is expected is that defense is not a strength of either team. UAB started on weekend 10^Th in the AAC in scoring defense, allowing 74.6 points. FAU was 12th^Thwhich results in 77.4 points.

FAU has enormous balance: seven players score an average of between eight and twelve points per game. Two players, 6-foot-7 junior Tre Carroll and 6-foot-7 sophomore Kaleb Glenn, share the scoring lead with an average of 11.9 points. Glenn comes off the bench and gives the Owls a big boost.

Lendeborg is one of five double-digit scorers for UAB. He averages 16.4 points and 10.1 rebounds. Christian Coleman, a 6-foot-8 senior, ranks second behind Lendeborg in both scoring (11.9 points per game) and rebounding (7.4).

While Lendeborg will be difficult to stop, in this case we see FAU’s balance and depth making the difference.