Lafayette vs NJIT 12/5/21 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The NJIT Highlanders will travel to the Kirby Sports Center to take on the Lafayette Leopards this Sunday afternoon in College Basketball action.

The NJIT Highlanders won their 2^nd straight game and improved to 4-3 on the season after defeating the St. Elizabeth Eagles, 76-43, this past Thursday. NJIT was outstanding on the defensive end against St. Elizabeth and had no trouble securing the victory after going into halftime with a 39-23 lead. NJIT shot 47.6% from the field & 35.3% from beyond the arc while holding St. Elizabeth to just 25.7% shooting from the field & 15.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Highlanders was Matt Faw who had 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, & 1 steal.

On the season, NJIT is averaging 67.0 ppg on 41.0% shooting from the field. The Highlanders are averaging 7.0 three-pointers per game on 34.0% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, NJIT has been led by Dylan O’Hearn (16.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.1 apg), Miles Coleman (16.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.6 spg), James Lee (8.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.7 apg, 2.6 spg, 1.0 bpg), & Antwuan Butler (7.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.3 spg).

Defensively, NJIT is holding their opponents to an average of 62.3 ppg on 36.3% shooting from the field. The Highlanders have a rebound margin of -0.9 and a turnover margin of 0.6.

The Lafayette Leopards had their 2-game winning streak and dropped to 2-5 on the season after being defeated by Sacred Heart Pioneers, 74-67, this past Thursday. Lafayette struggled defensively against Sacred Heart and could not fight back after the Pioneers took a 70-64 lead with 1:02 left in regulation. Lafayette shot 40.6% from the field & 29.4% from beyond the arc while allowing Sacred Heart to shoot 50.0% from the field & 36.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Leopards was Neal Quinn who had 20 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, & 1 steal.

On the season, Lafayette is averaging 64.7 ppg on 38.1% shooting from the field. The Leopards are averaging 9.9 three-pointers per game on 32.1% shooting form beyond the arc. Offensively, Lafayette has been led by Tyrone Perry (12.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.0 apg), Leo O’Boyle (11.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.0 apg), Kyle Jenkins (11.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.6 apg), & Neal Quinn (10.4 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.1 spg, 1.4 bpg).

Defensively, Lafayette is allowing their opponents to average 76.4 ppg on 44.4% shooting from the field. The Leopards have a rebound margin of -5.9 and a turnover margin of -2.0.

The Highlanders are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games overall, however, are just 1-9-2 ATS in their last 12 Sunday games. The Leopards are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 home games & 0-4 ATS in their last 4 Sunday games.

NJIT has won 3 of their last 4 games and has been led by their defense this season which ranks 62^nd in scoring defense & 13^th in defensive FG%. Lafayette picked up a nice win against Rutgers recently, however, the Leopards have struggled on both sides of the ball this season and come into this game ranked just 295^th in scoring offense & 208^th in scoring defense.

NJIT has been solid defensively this season and was able to knock off the same Sacred Heart team that the Leopards were just defeated by, however, I’m just not confident that the Highlanders offense, which ranks just 285^th in FG%, is going to have much success on the road in this one. Lafayette played a tough schedule to start the season which included games at Syracuse & Duke, and as I think the Leopards bounce back with a strong performance in this one, I think Lafayette does enough to cover this small home spread. Good Luck!