The James Madison Dukes and the Eastern Kentucky Colonels meet Tuesday in college basketball action from McBrayer Arena. James Madison is 2-0 on the year so far and took out Old Dominion in their most recent outing. As for Eastern Kentucky, they’re 3-0 and fresh off a win over Milwaukee. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
James Madison faced off against Carlow University in their first game this year. The Dukes rolled in that one, posting a whopping 74 points in the second half on the way to a 135-40 blowout win. Jalen Hodge was the leading scorer on 21 points and two assists.
In their second game of the year, JMU played a much tighter game against Old Dominion. The Dukes held a 35-25 advantage at the break and still had to hang on for a 58-53 victory. Hodge was again the top scorer there, making 4-of-8 from 3-point range on the way to 16 points.
Over on the Eastern Kentucky side, they faced Georgetown (KY) in their first game. The Colonels didn’t have many problems in that one and won 93-63. In game two it was another big win for EKU; they beat Ohio Valley 103-74 to move to 2-0.
The Colonels got their first test of the year in game three versus Milwaukee. Eastern Kentucky was up 46-31 after one half, but stumbled from there in a tense 77-71 win. Devontae Blanton was the Colonels’ leading scorer on 12 points, six rebounds and three assists.
The Colonels are 13-5-2 ATS in their last 20 home games and 8-1 ATS in their last nine Tuesday games. EKU is 33-16-2 ATS in their last 51 overall.
Meanwhile, the Dukes are 6-1 ATS in their last seven road games and 6-1 ATS in their last seven after an ATS win. JMU is 4-1 ATS in their last five Tuesday games.
PICK: I’m going to try Eastern Kentucky. This should be a pretty good matchup regardless, though; both teams are coming off stressful wins. The Colonels shot just 38.8 percent from the floor versus Milwaukee in their last outing, but stayed competitive on the boards and won the turnover battle 12-17. As for JMU, they shot 33.9 percent in their last game and had a 16-21 turnover advantage. I expect this one to be pretty close most of the way.