Niagara vs Siena 3/3/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Siena Saints will travel to the Gallagher Center to take on the Niagara Purple Eagles this Thursday night in College Basketball action.

The Siena Saints won their 2^nd straight game and improved to 15-11 on the season after defeating the Monmouth Hawks, 70-59, this past Sunday. Siena was outstanding defensively against Monmouth and was able to pull away in the 2^nd half after a Colby Rogers three-pointers gave the Saints a 63-53 lead with 5:14 left in regulation. Siena shot 37.7% from the field & 45.5% from beyond the arc while allowing Monmouth to shoot 46.2% from the field & 26.7% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Saints was Colby Rogers who had 26 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, & 1 block.

On the season, Siena is averaging 66.7 ppg on 42.7% shooting from the field. The Saints are averaging 6.8 three-pointers per game on 35.3% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Siena has been led by Colby Rogers (14.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.3 apg), Anthony Gaines (11.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.1 spg), Jackson Stormo (11.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.3 bpg), & Nick Hopkins (8.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.6 spg).

Defensively, Siena is allowing their opponents to average 68.8 ppg on 43.8% shooting from the field. The Saints have a rebound margin of -2.0 and a turnover margin of -0.6.

The Niagara Purple Eagles lost their 2^nd straight game and dropped to 12-15 on the season after being defeated by the St. Peter’s Peacocks, 63-36, this past Sunday. Niagara has no answers on the road for the St. Peter’s defense and could not fight back into the game after going into halftime trailing by a 31-16 margin. Niagara shot just 24.1% from the field & 20.0% from beyond the arc while allowing St. Peter’s to shoot 47.4% from the field & 15.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Purple Eagles was Marcus Hammond who had 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, & 2 steals.

On the season, Niagara is averaging 66.9 ppg on 43.7% shooting from the field. The Purple Eagles are averaging 7.0 three-pointers per game on 34.5% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Niagara has been led by Marcus Hammond (17.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.8 apg), Noah Thomasson (10.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.6 apg), Jordan Cintron (8.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.4 spg), & Sam Iorio (8.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.1 apg).

Defensively, Niagara is allowing their opponents to an average of 66.7 ppg on 41.8% shooting from the field. The Purple Eagles have a rebound margin of -2.6 and a turnover margin of 0.0.

The Saints are 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games overall, however, are just 6-13 ATS in their last 19 road games vs. a team with a winning home record. The Purple Eagles are 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 home games vs. a team with a winning road record & 18-7-1 ATS in their last 26 home games.

Niagara has lost 4 of their last 5 games, however, all those games have some on the road and we know this Purple Eagles team is much better at home as they showed in their impressive 80-71 win over Iona. Siena has been playing well as of late, winning 6 of their last 8 games, however, this is still a team that can struggled to find ways to score the basketball as the Saints come into this game ranked just 284^th in scoring offense, 256^th in FG%, & 243^rd in three-pointers made per game. Niagara lost a competitive 60-56 battle at Siena earlier this season and as I expect the Purple Eagles defense to come out strong on their home court, I think Marcus Hammond and the Niagara offense does enough to cover this small home spread. Good Luck!