Lafayette vs Bucknell 3/1/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The 9-seed Bucknell Bison will travel to the Kirby Sports Center to take on the Lafayette Leopards this Tuesday night in in the 1^st round of the Patriot League Championship.

The Bucknell Bison finished their regular season with an overall record of 8-22 and earned the 9-seed in the Patriot League Championship after finishing conference play with an 5-13 record. Bucknell was decent on the offensive end this season, ranking 181^st in scoring offense, 107^th in FG%, & 47^th in three-pointer FG%, however, the Bison struggled to pick up many wins behind a defense that ranks just 340^th in scoring defense & 310^th in defensive FG%. Bucknell went 3-9 in their non-conference schedule to start the season and really struggled to start conference play going 0-7 over their first seven games. Bucknell did play better down the stretch however, splitting their last 6 games which included an impressive 89-78 win over the 3-seed Boston University Terriers to close out their regular season.

On the season, Bucknell is averaging 70.9 ppg on 45.3% shooting from the field. The Bison are averaging 7.7 three-pointers per game on 36.8% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Bucknell has been led by Andrew Funk (17.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.8 apg0, Xander Rice (13.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1.2 spg), Andre Screen (11.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.0 bpg), & Jake van der Heijden (6.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.3 apg).

Defensively, Bucknell is allowing their opponents to average 78.8 ppg on 46.0% shooting from the field. The Bison have a rebound margin of -3.8 and a turnover margin of -3.9.

The Lafayette Leopards finished their regular season with an overall record of 10-19 and earned the 8-seed in the Patriot League Championship after finishing conference play with a 7-11 record. Lafayette did a decent job of knocking down three-pointers this season as the Leopards ranked 73^rd in three-pointers made per game, however, the Leopards overall struggled this season as they come into the conference tournament ranking just 271^st in scoring offense, 262^nd in scoring defense, & 300^th in defensive FG%. Lafayette finished their non-conference play with just an 3-8 overall record, however, it did include an impressive win at Rutgers. Lafayette struggled to start conference play, losing 6 of their last 8 games, however, the Leopards did split their final 10 conference games with their most impressive win coming in a 73-69 victory at Lehigh.

On the season, Lafayette is averaging 67.3 ppg on 43.2% shooting from the field. The Leopards are averaging 8.6 three-pointers per game on 32.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Lafayette has been led by Neal Quinn (14.6 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 3.9 apg, 1.3 bpg), Tyrone Perry (11.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.0 apg), Kyle Jenkins (10.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.1 apg), & CJ Fulton (7.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.4 spg).

Defensively, Lafayette is allowing their opponents to average 72.5 ppg on 45.8% shooting from the field. The Leopards have a rebound margin of -5.6 and a turnover margin of 0.3.

The Bison are 1-9 ATS in their last 10 Tuesday games & 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a straight up win. The Leopards are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games following a double-digit loss at home & 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up loss.

Bucknell and Lafayette split their regular season series as Lafayette defeated Bucknell by a 74-72 margin in OT at home in early February while the Bison defeated the Leopards by a 92-89 margin in OT at home about two weeks ago.

Bucknell was just 1-14 on the road this season, however, the Bison have looked better down the stretch compared to Lafayette and between the fact that both games were competitive, and that the Bison’s offense should have plenty of success in this one, I think the play here is to take Bucknell and the points. Good Luck!