Texas Basketball vs. Northern Arizona: 3 bold predictions
Timmy Allen bounces back with a double-double
Another area where Texas should have a very advantageous matchup is at the three and the four.
Northern Arizona doesn’t have a lot of size down low, but that team does get after it on the boards. Junior forward Carson Towt is a big reason for Northern Arizona’s effectiveness on the glass, as he ranks third in the country in offensive rebounds on the season (24) and is top three in the Big Sky in rebounds per game (10.2).
This will be a key point of emphasis for a Texas team that lost the battle on the glass in two of the first three games of the season.
But I do believe Texas has the forwards with the necessary size and effort down low to get it done against Northern Arizona. And two of the forwards that I like to have solid performances against Northern Arizona are senior Timmy Allen and freshman Dillon Mitchell.
Allen and Mitchell both match up pretty well in terms of size with the Northern Arizona forwards (most of them standing between 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-7).
Where a forward like Allen will really be put to the test, though, is on the offensive end of the floor. Allen is off to a slow start this season offensively, averaging a career-low seven points per game. He’s also got more turnovers than assists so far this season.
Yet, the best game for Allen so far this season came against Houston Christian, where he registered his first double-double of the season (10 points, 10 rebounds).
I believe this matchup against Northern Arizona will afford Allen another opportunity to get his offensive game going. It would be nice to see Allen get something in the ballpark of 14-15 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists while minimizing untimely turnovers.
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Against a Northern Arizona team that is forcing roughly 10.5 turnovers per game this season (good for 317th in the country), Allen will have a good shot to get going against a more questionable defense. If there was ever a matchup early this season for Allen to have a sort of launchpad game, this looks to be it.