Rider Broncs vs Niagara Purple Eagles Prediction, 1/8/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Rider Broncs vs Niagara Purple Eagles

Date: Friday, January 8, 2021

Location: Gallagher Center in Niagara Falls, NY

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Rider (+8)

The Niagara Purple Eagles (4-4) host the Rider Broncs (2-7) at Gallagher Center on Friday. The line on this contest has Niagara as 8-point favorites. The total is set at 138.

Rider enters this one with a win-loss mark of 2-7 for the year. They are losing possession via turnover 13.3 times per contest and as a team they are committing 19.9 personal fouls every game. As a team, Rider is pulling in 33.0 boards per game and has totaled 108 assists on the year, which is 209th in college hoops in terms of passing the ball. The Broncs are shooting 31.7% on 3-point shots (45 of 142) and 76.8% from the free throw line. They average 66.9 points per game (280th in the nation) while shooting 43.1% from the field. On the defensive end, the Broncs are forcing 11.4 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.8 fouls. The Broncs defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 46.4% (235 of 506) and they surrender 33.2 rebounds per game as a unit. They are ranked 282nd in college basketball in giving up assists with 142 surrendered this year. They concede 37.1% on 3-pointers while they are 280th in college basketball in points per game allowed (75.2).

The Rider Broncs faced the Fairfield Stags and ended up losing by a score of 72-56 in their last contest. Rider finished the game having earned a 45.3% field goal percentage (24 out of 53) and made 3 of 16 shots from beyond the arc. At the free throw line, the Broncs converted 5 of 6 attempts for a rate of 83.3%. In terms of grabbing boards, they collected 30 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 7 assists for this game while having 4 steals and 2 blocked shots. When it comes to defense, Rider allowed their opponent to shoot 45.3% from the floor on 24 out of 53 shooting. Fairfield totaled 15 assists and had 3 steals for the matchup. Furthurmore, the Stags grabbed 32 rebounds (9 offensive, 23 defensive) and earned 2 rejections. Fairfield ended up shooting 54.5% from the charity stripe by converting 6 of their 11 attempts. They also knocked down 10 out of their 22 tries from 3-point land.

Dontrell McQuarter is someone who was a major contributor for the contest. He racked up 12 points on 5 out of 8 shooting. He was on the court for 29 mins and also grabbed 5 rebounds. McQuarter finished the contest at 62.5% from the field and also dished out 2 assists. Someone else that played a role in the matchup for the Broncs was Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson. He had 9 boards and also had 2 assists. He walked away from this one shooting 83.3% from the floor in this matchup by shooting 5-of-6 (10 points). When all was said and done, Ogemuno-Johnson saw the court for 27 minutes.

Niagara has a mark of 4-4 on the year. The Purple Eagles are committing 15.3 fouls every game and they connect on 72.8% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 11.4 times per game (288th in college hoops) and they turn the ball over 10.6 times per contest. Niagara has accounted for 514 pts for the year (64.3 per contest) and they collect 31.4 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Purple Eagles are hitting on 40.1% from the floor, which ranks them 316th in the nation. The Purple Eagles on the defensive side of the court are 52nd in D-1 in points given up per game with 63.8. They have given up 13.3 dimes and 36.8 total rebounds per game, which is ranked 206th and 236th in those defensive categories. The Niagara defense concedes 35.8% on three-point shots (67 of 187) and opponents are knocking down 65.3% of their free throw shots. They are forcing 13.5 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 42.5% from the floor (168th in D-1).

When they last stepped on the court, the Niagara Purple Eagles took home the win by a final score of 86-72 against the Marist Red Foxes. The Purple Eagles earned 23 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards for a total of 30 in this matchup. They turned away 2 tries while recording 5 steals in the game. The Red Foxes committed 19 fouls in this matchup which took the Purple Eagles to the free throw line for a total of 25 shots. They were able to knock down 24 of them for a percentage of 96.0%. In relation to shots from downtown, Niagara converted 14 out of their 31 attempts (45.2%). Overall, the Purple Eagles went 24 out of 60 from the field which gave them a percentage of 40.0%. The Purple Eagles permitted the Red Foxes to convert 27 of their 51 attempts from the floor which left them shooting 52.9% in this contest. They shot 42.3% from three-point range by hitting 11 out of 26 and walked away from this one shooting 7 of 13 at the charity stripe (53.8%). When talking about cleaning the glass, Niagara permitted Marist to snag 28 overall (4 offensive).

Marcus Hammond ended up being important for the Purple Eagles for the matchup. He converted 7 out of 13 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 53.8%, which had him sitting at 23 points. Hammond grabbed 6 boards in his 28 mins and had 2 dimes in the matchup. Someone else who came through for Niagara was Nick MacDonald. He ended up walking away with 15 points in his 16 minutes played via 5 of 8 shooting for this game. MacDonald ended the game having shot 62.5% from the floor in addition to contributing 2 assists and 3 total rebounds.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Niagara (-8) and over 138 points

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