Marshall Thundering Herd vs James Madison Dukes Prediction, 1/16/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Marshall Thundering Herd vs James Madison Dukes

Date: Thursday, January 16, 2025

Location: Atlantic Union Bank Center in Harrisonburg, VA

TV: ESPN+

The James Madison Dukes (9-8) are welcoming the Marshall Thundering Herd (10-8) at Atlantic Union Bank Center on Thursday.

The Marshall Thundering Herd stepped onto the hardwood against Georgia Southern and notched a win by a score of 81-69 in their last game. Marshall finished the game with a 50.0% FG percentage (27 out of 54) and knocked down 10 out of their 26 3-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Thundering Herd knocked down 17 of 27 shots for a percentage of 63.0%. When discussing rebounding, they compiled a total of 37 with 14 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 19 dimes in this matchup in addition to forcing 11 turnovers and getting 6 steals. When talking about defense, Marshall let their opponent shoot 45.5% from the floor on 25 of 55 shooting. Georgia Southern distributed 8 assists and had 11 steals in the game. In addition, Georgia Southern snagged 21 rebounds (5 offensive, 16 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Georgia Southern finished the game shooting 73.7% from the free throw line by burying 14 of 19 attempts. They knocked down 5 of their 16 tries from three-point range. In the matter of fouls, the Thundering Herd walked away with 16 and Georgia Southern finished the game with 22 fouls.

Mikal Dawson is a player who came through in this contest. He finished with 21 points on 6 out of 12 shooting. He played 39 mins played and also grabbed 4 rebounds. He finished shooting 50.0% from the floor and also recorded 3 assists.

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Marshall heads into this matchup with a record of 10-8 on the campaign. They turn it over 12.3 times per contest and as a squad they commit 20.2 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Marshall is snagging 37.0 boards per contest and has tallied 261 assists so far this season, which ranks 98th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Thundering Herd are hitting 30.0% on shots beyond the perimeter (137 of 456) and 67.3% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 75.5 pts per contest (171st in Division 1) while hitting 44.1% from the field.

Defensively, the Thundering Herd are able to force 13.4 turnovers every game and they draw 19.2 personal fouls. They are ranked 41st in college in giving up assists to the opposition with 182 relinquished on the campaign. The Thundering Herd defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 44.3% (444 of 1,002) and they surrender 35.3 rebounds per game as a team. They give up 31.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are ranked 198th in college hoops in points per game allowed (71.6).

The last time they took the court, the James Madison Dukes went home defeated by a final of 86-66 when they played Appalachian State. The Dukes were able to corral 21 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive boards totaling 35 for the contest. They also turned it over 13 times, while getting 6 steals in this game. Appalachian State had 15 personal fouls for the contest which took the Dukes to the free throw line for 18 shots. They were able to make 14 of them for a rate of 77.8%. With respect to three-point attempts, James Madison made 6 out of 24 attempts (25.0%). When all was said and done, the Dukes walked away from this one shooting 23 for 66 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 34.8%. The Dukes permitted Appalachian State to knock down 28 of their 52 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 53.8% in this game. They wrapped up this game 58.8% from 3-point land via 10 out of 17 and finished the contest at 20 out of 28 from the free throw line (71.4%). When talking about cleaning the glass, James Madison allowed Appalachian State to pull down 32 overall (5 on the offensive glass).

Elijah Hutchins-Everett ended up having an impact for the Dukes in the matchup. He buried 8 of 13 in the matchup for a field goal rate of 61.5%, and accumulated 9 rebounds. He accumulated 19 points in his 26 minutes on the hardwood and totaled 2 dimes in the game.

James Madison has a record of 9-8 for the campaign. The Dukes are responsible for committing 15.9 personal fouls per game and they shoot 71.7% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 12.5 times per game (277th in D-1) and they turn the ball over 12.2 times per contest. James Madison has scored 1,264 points on the campaign (74.4 per contest) and they average 37.9 rebounds per contest. As an offensive unit, the Dukes are shooting 44.5% from the field, which ranks 209th in the nation.

The Dukes defensively are ranked 164th in Division 1 in points allowed per game with 70.8. They are forcing 10.3 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.6% from the floor (260th in the country). The James Madison defense gives up 33.0% on shots from 3-point land (115 of 349) and their opponents are knocking down 68.8% of their free throw attempts. They have relinquished 11.1 dimes and 31.5 rebounds per game, which is ranked 49th and 43rd in those categories on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Marshall

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