The Jacksonville Dolphins (6-11) look to end their five-game road losing streak when they challenge the North Florida Ospreys (6-9), who will attempt to lengthen their five-game home winning streak. Action begins at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 6, 2018, and it can be seen on ESPN 3.
Jacksonville Dolphins vs. North Florida Ospreys Free Preview
In the Dolphins last outing, they dismantled the Trinity Baptist Eagles, 105-48. With 16 points and 10 rebounds, Jacksonville’s Jalyn Hinton put together a solid game. Jacksonville dominated nearly every stat category in the game. They had an extraordinary offensive rebounding percentage of 37.9 (above their season average of 28.4) and an effective field goal percentage of 0.689 (above their season average of 0.472). Trinity Baptist recorded marks of 14.7 and 0.347, respectively, for those same stats.
The Ospreys will look to keep it rolling after thoroughly outplaying the Florida National Conquistadors in their last game, 104-70. Emmanuel Lambright led the way for North Florida, recording 10 points and 13 rebounds. The Ospreys had a great effective field goal percentage of 0.592 (above their season average of 0.508) and had a free throw rate of 0.282 (above their season average of 0.155).
North Florida could struggle to create turnovers. Jacksonville ranks 188th in the nation at avoiding errors (turnover percentage of 19.9 percent), while North Florida forces the 25th-fewest turnovers (15.5 percent).
This will be the first matchup of the year between these two teams, after the Ospreys won all three games last season. In the most recent contest, North Florida won 77-74. North Florida had a much better offensive rebounding percentage (33.3 vs. 20.0). Jacksonville, meanwhile, did a great job of converting from the charity stripe (14-20; 70.0 percent).
Jacksonville Dolphins at North Florida Ospreys Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Jacksonville, ATS Winner – Jacksonville, O/U – Over
Betting Notes:
- The Dolphins rank 174th in assists per game (12.1) while the Ospreys rank 206th in assists allowed per game (17.8).
- North Florida ranks 71st in blocks per game (3.3) while Jacksonville ranks 74th in blocks allowed per game (3.4).
- North Florida averages 31.1 three pointers per game, which ranks 34th in the nation. Jacksonville ranks 188th in three pointers allowed per game (25.6).
- The Dolphins rank 35th in steals per game (7.8) while the Ospreys rank 183rd in steals allowed per game (9.3).
- North Florida ranks 85th in rebounds per game (35.9) while Jacksonville ranks 140th in rebounds allowed per game (38.2).
Betting Trends:
- The Ospreys average margin of defeat in their last five games has been 18.8, up from 9.9 for the season.
- During their last five games, the Dolphins have scored an average of 74.6 points per game (0.8 above their season average) and allowed an average of 76.6 points per game (0.2 below their season average).
