The Wildcats are solid enough to win on Friday, but I feel that momentum isn't on their side. The loss of Ty Berry stung, as Northwestern went just 5-4 without him, including 1-3 in their last four overall. The senior was a serious threat from long range (43.3%) and shot 89.5 percent at the free-throw line. He would have given NU an additional scoring threat to keep pace with FAU, but that won't be the case.

The experienced Owls are likely to be determined to avoid an early exit after suffering an upset in their conference tournament. Their offense will put a lot of pressure on slow-tempo Northwestern to keep up on the scoreboard, especially with the extra stress that comes with defending an offensive juggernaut. Will the Wildcats' legs be strong enough to hunt for quality shots and knock them down late in the game? 

Northwestern will struggle too much defensively in this matchup to cover the spread. Their opponents shot 58.6 percent at the rim and 35.9 percent from three-point distance this season. Florida Atlantic will count on their 7-foot center Vlad Goldin to dominate at the rim (71.1 rim FG%), and Johnell Davis is bound to make the Wildcats pay from long range (42.5 3PT%).

As fun as the Boo Buie-Johnell Davis matchup is on paper, I give the edge to Davis' support staff in this eight-nine matchup.