The Stetson Hatters and the Bellarmine Knights meet in college basketball action from the Freedom Hall on Thursday night.
The Stetson Hatters will look to build on their four-game win streak after a 95-85 OT win over North Alabama last time out. Jalen Blackmon leads the Hatters in scoring with 11.9 PPG while Luke Brown has 11.3 PPG and Josh Smith has 10.7 PPG with a team-high 6.7 RPG to lead the Hatters on the glass while capping off the trio of double-digit scorers for Stetson so far this season. Stephan Swanson also has 9 PPG and a team-high 4.9 APG to lead Stetson in the assist department up to this point in the year. As a team, Stetson is averaging 76.1 PPG on 46.5% shooting from the field, 38.5% from three and 74.5% from the foul line this season.
The Bellarmine Knights will try to build on a 75-62 road win over Jacksonville State last time out. Garrett Tipton has 13.3 PPG to lead Bellarmine in scoring while Ben Johnson has 10.1 PPG as the only other double-digit scorer for Bellarmine up to this point in the year. Juston Betz has a team-high 4.7 RPG and 3.5 APG to lead the Knights in rebounding and assists up to this point in the season. As a team, Bellarmine is averaging 67.9 PPG on 47% shooting from the field, 39.6% from three and 74.2n% from the foul line this season.
Stetson is 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games overall and 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a win while the over is 4-0 in their last 4 road games. Bellarmine is 9-2-1 ATS in their last 12 games against a team with a winning record and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 home games against a team with a losing road record while the over is 5-1 in their last 6 games overall.
I get the case to be made for Bellarmine at home, but the thing is that Stetson has been rolling since the turn of the calendar and have been finding ways to win and cover games as well. Bellarmine always schedules up and it serves them well down the road, but right now, the Knights are struggling to find their footing and I think the wrong team is favored here. Give me Stetson.