Central Connecticut State vs Merrimack 1/8/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Merrimack Warriors and the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils meet in college basketball action from the William H. Detrick Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

The Merrimack Warriors come into this game looking to build on their current four-game winning streak after a COVID forfeiture from Fairleigh Dickinson last time out. Jordan Minor leads Merrimack in scoring and rebounding with 14.6 PPG and 6.3 RPG as the lone double-digit scorer for the Warriors this season while Malik Edmead has 9.1 PPG and Mikey Watkins has 9.2 PPG with 3.7 RPG and a team-high 3.2 APG as well this season. As a team, Merrimack is averaging 54.9 points per game on 39.7% shooting from the field, 33.3% from three point range and 70% from the foul line while allowing 59.3 points per game on 43% shooting from the field and 33.1% from behind the arc this season.

The Central Connecticut State Blue Devils will look to pick up another win after a victory over Sacred Heart after a forfeiture from Sacred Heart last time out. Nigel Scantlebury leads the Blue Devils in scoring with 12.7 PPG and in assists with 3.3 APG as the lone double-digit scorer for Central Connecticut so far this season. Ian Krishnan has 9.5 PPG and Andre Shoddy has a team-high 6.5 RPG to lead the Blue Devils on the glass. As a team, Central Connecticut State is averaging 62.6 PPG on 39.8% shooting from the field, 33.1% from three and 68.6% from the foul line while allowing 74.6 PPG on 46.4% shooting from the field and 33.1% from three this season.

Merrimack is 9-2-1 ATS in their last 12 games against a team with a winning record and 9-1-1 ATS in their last 11 games against a team with a winning percentage below .400 while the under is 9-0-1 in their last 10 Saturday games. Central Connecticut State is 5-0 ATS in their last 5 home games and 4-0 ATS in their last 4 home games against a team with a losing road record while the under is 5-0 in their last 5 Saturday games.

I get the Warriors being favored here, but neither team has played much as of late and side-by-side, I don’t want to be laying points on the road with one of the worst offensive teams in the country in Merrimack, as good as the defense is. Central Connecticut hasn’t been much better, but at least they can score and I think that the Blue Devils keep this one somewhat close.