It's time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a USF-FAU prediction and pick. Find out how to watch USF-FAU.

There is plenty of interesting conference action in college basketball on a Sunday which will not be dominated by the NFL due to the off week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. This game is a little under the radar but should be a fun watch on its own merit.

The reality of being an elite program for a few seasons was thrilling and exciting for Florida Atlantic. However, when a smaller school hits the big time, there is the ever-present possibility that the coach who created the renaissance will leave to take a bigger job. This happened for FAU when coach Dusty May went to the University of Michigan to coach in the Big Ten. Florida Atlantic lost the unique leader and voice who took the program to multiple NCAA Tournaments and to the 2023 Final Four, when the Owls came one shot from making the national championship game of college basketball.

Now Florida Atlantic is starting all over under new coach John Jakus. People around the FAU program might have been wondering what might have been if May had stayed and Johnell Davis had not transferred. Saturday night, Davis helped Arkansas and John Calipari beat Kentucky. That's the kind of player FAU could have used this season, but again, this is life at the lower end of the conference food chain.

USF: +7.5 (-102)

Moneyline: +265

FAU: -7.5 (-120)

Moneyline: -335

Over: 152.5 (-110)

Under: 152.5 (-110)

Time: 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT

TV: ESPN2

FAU has, in a real sense, started over this season. The Owls are not as formidable as they previously were. Dusty May took some of the players he had at FAU and brought them with him to Michigan, notably Vlad Goldin, who has been a force for the Wolverines. Other players from last season’s roster transferred elsewhere. This is simply the nature of the beast at a program of FAU’s size and stature. It’s hard to maintain long-term success because the coaches who thrive at this level are almost always going to leave before too long. They will often take players with them. This FAU roster just doesn't measure up, and USF can stay close enough to cover what is a decent-sized spread.

South Florida has carried a profound and unique burden this season, playing basketball without the beloved and skilled leader who improved the USF basketball program so much last season. Amir Abdur-Rahim was a gifted coach with a very bright future. His death was enormously and devastatingly sad for the school and the college basketball community. Words fail to adequately describe the heartbreak of seeing a life and career cut short in their prime. It is a loss beyond all measurement. Yet, life goes on, and the Bulls are struggling to play and perform in an unfathomable set of circumstances. USF was the No. 1 seed in the 2024 AAC Tournament. Reality is very different this year.

FAU should win the game, but a spread prediction is harder to arrive at. Wait and see if a live-play angle emerges here.