The Virginia Cavaliers (5-3) travel to face off against the SMU Mustangs (7-2) on Saturday, December 7th. This game will be played at Moody Coliseum in Dallas and televised on CW. SMU is coming off a win in their previous game, while Virginia is looking to get back on track from a loss to the Florida. Tip-off is set for 2:15 ET.

Virginia Cavaliers vs SMU Mustangs

The Cavaliers Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

Virginia Cavaliers Recent Game/Games

Virginia fell to 5-3 on the season after an 87-69 road loss to Florida on Wednesday. The Cavaliers went into the game as +17.5 point underdogs and failed to cover the spread.

Trailing 39-35 at halftime, Virginia allowed 48 points in the 2nd half while scoring 34. The game’s total points of 156 exceeded the O/U line of 134.

The Mustangs Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

SMU Mustangs Recent Game/Games

SMU improved to 7-2 this season with a 101-72 home win over Alabama State on Tuesday. Entering the game as -22 favorites, the Mustangs covered the spread and the total points of 173 exceeded the O/U line of 156.

Leading 49-39 at halftime, SMU tightened up defensively in the 2nd half, allowing just 33 points while scoring 52 of their own.

Cavaliers Offense Breakdown

Virginia put up 69 points in their last game, shooting 45.6% from the field with an effective field goal percentage of 52.6%. They connected on 38.1% of their three-point attempts, hitting 8 of 21 from deep, and were nearly perfect from the free-throw line, making 9 of 10.

Walter Clayton Jr. led the way with 27 points, hitting 5 threes at a 41.7% clip. Alex Condon was efficient, shooting 87.5% from the field and perfect from beyond the arc, finishing with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Elijah Saunders also contributed 19 points, knocking down 3 of 5 from three-point range.

Mustangs Offense Breakdown

SMU’s offense put up 101 points in their last game, shooting 47.8% from the field with an effective field goal percentage of 55.1%. They connected on 57.5% of their two-point attempts and hit 34.5% from beyond the arc, making 10 threes.

The Mustangs were strong on the offensive glass, grabbing 20 rebounds, and they hit 73.5% of their free throws, going 25-for-34. Kario Oquendo led the way with 20 points in 16 minutes, shooting 7-of-8 overall and 4-of-5 from three-point range.

Cavaliers Team Defense

Virginia’s defense struggled in their last game, giving up 87 points on 51% shooting from the field. The Cavaliers allowed their opponent to connect on 60% of their two-point attempts, with 21 makes on 35 tries.

From beyond the arc, Virginia’s defense allowed 10 threes on 25 attempts, a 40% shooting performance. They also sent their opponent to the free-throw line 21 times, where they converted 15 shots for 71%. The Cavaliers gave up 11 offensive rebounds.

Mustangs Team Defense

Virginia’s defense struggled in their last game, giving up 87 points on 51% shooting from the field. The Cavaliers allowed 31 made field goals on 60 attempts.

Inside the arc, Virginia’s defense gave up 21 two-pointers on 35 attempts, a 60% success rate for their opponent. From three-point range, the opposition hit 10 of 25 shots, shooting 40%.

Cavaliers vs Mustangs Trends

• Across the Cavaliers last five road games, the team averaged 54 points per game while allowing 73. Their record vs the spread in these contests was 1-4, while going 1-4 straight-up.
• Through their last ten home games, SMU has an ATS record of just 3-7. However, their overall record was 3-7 while averaging 76 points per game.
• The last ten games that Virginia was the underdog, they have an ATS mark of 2-8 while going 2-8 straight up.
• In their last five games as the betting favorite, the Mustangs have a strong straight up record of 4-1. In addition, their ATS record was 3-2 in these scenarios.

Cavaliers vs Mustangs Prediction

For a pick on the point-spread in this Mustangs vs. Cavaliers matchup, our bet is to grab the Cavaliers at +9.5. Even though our projections have the Mustangs winning 76-70, we see the Cavaliers as the play on the point-spread.

Regarding the over/under, the current line is set at 135.5, and our model predicts the Cavaliers and Mustangs to score a combined 146 points. We recommend betting on the over.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.