Manhattan vs Niagara 1/18/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Niagara Purple Eagles will travel to Draddy Gymnasium to take on the Manhattan Jaspers this Tuesday night in College Basketball action.

The Niagara Purple Eagles had their 2-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 7-8 on the season after being defeated by the Iona Gaels, 78-55, this past Sunday. Niagara had no answers on the offensive end for Iona and could not fight back after going into halftime trailing by a 36-26 margin. Niagara shot just 35.7% from the field & 29.2% from beyond the arc while allowing Iona to shoot 40.6% from the field & 40.9% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Purple Eagles was Marcus Hammond who had 17 points, 5 rebounds, & 1 assist.

On the season, Niagara is averaging 68.1 ppg on 45.0% shooting from the field. The Purple Eagles are averaging 7.1 three-pointers per game on 35.4% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Niagara has been led by Marcus Hammond (17.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.5 apg), Jordan Cintron (10.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.9 spg), Noah Thomasson (8.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.9 apg), & Justin Roberts (7.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.0 apg).

Defensively, Niagara is holding their opponents to an average of 65.5 ppg on 41.3% shooting from the field. The Purple Eagles have a rebound margin of -2.1 and a turnover margin of 0.7.

The Manhattan Jaspers improved to 9-4 on the season after defeating the Canisius Golden Griffins, 80-75, this past Sunday. Manhattan was solid from the field against Canisius and was able to hold off a late charge by the Golden Griffins after taking a 62-43 lead with 10:45 left in regulation. Manhattan shot 63.0% from the field & 28.6% from beyond the arc while allowing Canisius to shoot 45.2% from the field & 24.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Jaspers was Jose Perez who had 33 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, & 2 steals.

On the season, Manhattan is averaging 75.1 ppg on 46.5% shooting from the field. The Jaspers are averaging 5.5 three-pointers per game on 33.2% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Manhattan has been led by Jose Perez (16.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 5.3 apg), Ant Nelson (11.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.8 spg), Warren Williams (10.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg), & Elijah Buchanan (7.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.8 spg).

Defensively, Manhattan is allowing their opponents to average 71.9 ppg on 45.9% shooting from the field. The Jaspers have a rebound margin of 0.8 and a turnover margin of 0.8.

The Purple Eagles are 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games, however, are 0-7 ATS in their last 7 games vs. Manhattan. The Jaspers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games & 6-0 ATS in their last 6 home games vs. Niagara.

Niagara has been led by their defense which ranks 91^st in scoring defense & 109^th in defensive FG%, however, the Purple Eagles have struggled putting points up on the board and come into this game ranked just 263^rd in scoring offense. Manhattan has been led by their offense which ranks 109^th in scoring offense & 74^th in FG%, however, the defense has struggled and currently ranks just 254^th in scoring defense & 313^th in defensive FG%.

Niagara is the better overall team, however, the Purple Eagles are just 2-5 on the road this season and have had no success recently on the road against Manhattan. Manhattan has been getting some incredible play by Jose Perez and between the fact that I think the Jaspers will be able to put up some decent points against the Niagara defense and that I was impressed by the Jaspers 16-point win earlier this season vs. Liberty, I think the play here is to take Manhattan to cover this small home spread. Good Luck!