Fairfield vs Manhattan Prediction 2/16/25 College Basketball Picks Today

The Manhattan Jaspers and the Fairfield Stags meet Sunday in college basketball action from Leo D Mahoney Arena. Here’s a Fairfield vs Manhattan prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Fairfield vs Manhattan pick.

Manhattan Jaspers Betting Preview

The Jaspers have been a mixed bag in the record column so far this year, and they’ve been fighting off the .500 mark for quite some time. Manhattan opened on a 6-5 stretch, falling to Maryland, Fairleigh Dickinson, Virginia, Le Moyne, and Marist amid wins over Mercy, Fordham, Army, Saint Peter’s, Wagner, and Presbyterian in that time. The Jaspers hit a 5-5 run in their next 10 games with wins over Rider, Niagara, Mount St. Mary’s, Iona, and Saint Peter’s. The losses otherwise were versus Siena, Mount St. Mary’s, Merrimack, Fairfield, and Sacred Heart, giving the Jaspers an 11-10 record through their first 21 games this year.

In their Friday game versus Merrimack, the Jaspers were in trouble at halftime sporting a 42-33 deficit. Manhattan came back after the break though, posting a 46-33 run and powering out the victory in the end 79-75. Leading team scorer Will Sydnor doubled up on 19 points with 10 rebounds and four assists. Wesley Robinson notched a double-double as well with 18 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Mariah Gilyard added 17 points with seven boards and five assists while leading bench scorer Devin Dinkins had 15 points with four rebounds.

Fairfield Stags Betting Preview

Over on the Fairfield side, they didn’t start out too badly in the record column this year but they’ve had some difficulties since early December. The Stags went 5-4 over their first nine outings, beating New Hampshire, John Jay College, Vermont, Fairleigh Dickinson, and Rider with losses to Rhode Island, Georgetown, Drexel, and Yale otherwise. After a losing streak versus Mount St. Mary’s, Central Connecticut, Monmouth, Columbia, and Merrimack, the Stags hit a 3-2 run with losses to Marist and Canisius. The wins otherwise were versus Iona, Niagara, and Manhattan. The next five were a 1-4 run with a win over Marist among losses to Merrimack, Quinnipiac, Iona, and Sacred Heart. That would put the Stags at 9-15 overall through their first 24 games of the year.

Matched up against Saint Peter’s on Friday, Fairfield was down 25-22 going into the second half. The Stags fell even further behind from there, notching a 40-30 deficit on the way to a 65-52 loss. Tops in scoring was Kyle Jenkins with 12 bench points and a pair of rebounds. Prophet Johnson added 10 rebounds with nine points and three assists as well.

Why the Fairfield Stags will win

• Fairfield has won eight of its last nine games at Leo D. Mahoney Arena following a road loss.
• Manhattan has lost each of its last four day games following a home win.
• Manhattan has lost the first half in each of its last six Sunday games against the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Why the Manhattan Jaspers will win

• Fairfield has lost each of its last seven day games.
• Manhattan has won four of its last five games.
• The road team has won the first half in each of the last six games between Manhattan and Fairfield.

Fairfield vs Manhattan Prediction

I’ll lean toward Manhattan here, but you could probably make a case either way. In their Friday game, the Jaspers had a rough first half against Merrimack but came back for a nice home victory in the end. Manhattan ended up shooting 49.2 percent from the field in that one with a dominant 47-29 rebounding edge. The Jaspers got into trouble with 16 turnovers for 13 Warriors points though, which nearly cost them the game. They won’t be able to win like that on the road Sunday. Still, Manhattan is scoring well these days with 72 or more points in seven straight games.

These teams have seen each other already this year in a close game. Manhattan lost that one at home on January 23, falling 87-84 in overtime. The Jaspers shot well from the field (45.3 percent) and the line (85.7 percent on 18-of-21), posting a 43-40 rebounding advantage. The problem was Manhattan’s 14 turnovers, which turned into 16 Stags points. The Jaspers can’t be so careless with the ball during this road rematch. If they can show a little more discipline I like Manhattan to power out some revenge on Sunday. It should be a competitive game either way, though.