Lafayette vs Sacred Heart 12/2/21 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Sacred Heart Pioneers will travel to the Kirby Sports Center to take on the Lafayette Leopards this Thursday night in College Basketball action.

The Sacred Heart Pioneers lost their 3^rd straight game and dropped to 2-5 on the season after being defeated by the NJIT Highlanders, 75-70, this past Tuesday night. Sacred Heart fought back from a 33-10 deficit to tie the game late, however, the offensive struggled down the stretch and NJIT was able to pull away for the victory after closing out the final 1:32 of regulation on a 5-0 run. Sacred Heart shot 41.0% from the field & 30.8% from beyond the arc while allowing NJIT to shoot 46.6% from the field & 29.4% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Pioneers was Tyler Thomas who had 29 points, 7 rebounds, & 3 steals.

On the season, Sacred Heart is averaging 74.6 ppg on 44.1% shooting from the field. The Pioneers are averaging 8.4 three-pointers per game on 33.1% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Sacred Heart has been led by Tyler Thomas (20.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.7 spg), Aaron Clarke (14.8 ppg, 3.3 apg), Nico Galette (8.9 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 2.1 apg), & Alex Watson (8.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.9 apg).

Defensively, Sacred Heart is allowing their opponents to average 73.6 ppg on 42.9% shooting from the field. The Pioneers have a rebound margin of 6.1 and a turnover margin of -3.7.

The Lafayette Leopards won their 2^nd straight game and improved to 2-4 on the season after defeating the Columbia Lions, 73-50, this past Monday. Lafayette was lights out on the defensive end and had no trouble securing the victory after going into halftime with a 42-22 lead. Lafayette shot 38.6% from the field & 32.3% from beyond the arc while holding Columbia to just 28.3% from the field & 19.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Leopards was CJ Fulton who had 11 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, & 3 steals.

On the season, Lafayette is averaging 64.3 ppg on 37.7% shooting from the field. The Leopards are averaging 9.8 three-pointers per game on 32.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Lafayette has been led by Tyrone Perry (12.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.7 apg), Kyle Jenkins (12.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.7 apg), Leo O’Boyle (11.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.0 apg), & Neal Quinn (8.8 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.2 spg, 1.5 bpg).

Defensively, Lafayette is allowing their opponents to an average of 76.8 ppg on 43.6% shooting from the field. The Leopards have a rebound margin of -6.5 and a turnover margin of -2.5.

The Pioneers are 8-1 ATS in their last 9 games following a ATS loss, however, are just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Leopards are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games following a straight up win of more than 20 points, however, are just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400.

Sacred Heart has been competitive as of late, however, Lafayette should be plenty battled tested after playing an extremely tough non-conference schedule which included an impressive 53-51 victory at Rutgers. Lafayette has been solid defensively over their past two games, holding Rutgers & Columbia to just an average of 50.5 ppg, and as Sacred Heart has struggled defensively as they come into this game ranked just 271^st in scoring defense & 314^th in turnover margin, I think the play here is to take Lafayette to cover this small home spread. Good Luck!