Louisiana-Monroe vs Troy 1/20/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Troy Trojans will travel to Fant-Ewing Coliseum to take on the UL Monroe Warhawks this Thursday night in College Basketball action.

The Troy Trojans won their 2^nd straight game and improved to 12-5 on the season after defeating the Appalachian State Mountaineers, 68-53, on January 8^th. Troy was outstanding defensively against Appalachian State and was able to pull away for the victory in the 2^nd half after taking a 58-47 lead with 7:59 left in regulation. Troy shot 44.4% from the field & 30.4% from beyond the arc while holding Appalachian State to just 34.0% shooting from the field & 23.5% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Trojans was Nick Stampley who had 8 points, 12 rebounds, 1 block, & 1 steal.

On the season, Troy is averaging 72.2 ppg on 43.7% shooting from the field. The Trojans are averaging 7.4 three-pointers per game on 32.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Troy has been led by Efe Odigie (11.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.2 apg), Duke Deen (9.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.3 spg), Desmond Williams (8.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.5 spg), & Zay Williams (8.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.3 apg).

Defensively, Troy is holding their opponents to an average of 64.4 ppg on 39.9% shooting from the field. The Trojans have a rebound margin of 2.8 and a turnover margin of 1.4.

The UL Monroe Warhawks snapped their 2-game losing streak and improved to 10-8 on the season after defeating the UT Arlington Mavericks, 62-55 (OT), this past Saturday. UL Monroe was able to fight back from a 46-42 deficit with just 1:42 left in regulation to force OT and had no trouble pulling away for the victory after a 7-0 Warhawks run gave UL Monroe a 53-46 lead with just 1:31 left in OT. UL Monroe shot 37.7% from the field & 27.8% from beyond the arc while holding UT Arlington to just 28.3% shooting from the field & 24.2% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Warhawks was Russell Harrison who had a double-double with 19 points, 13 rebounds, 1 block, & 1 steal.

On the season, UL Monroe is averaging 76.8 ppg on 46.9% shooting from the field. The Warhawks are averaging 7.3 three-pointers per game on 34.1% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, UL Monroe has been led by Andre Jones (13.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1.7 spg), Russell Harrison (13.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.0 spg), Koreem Ozier (12.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.3 spg), & Nika Metskhvarishvili (10.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg). Both Andre Jones & Koreem Ozier missed the Warhawks last game due to Covid-19 and currently are out indefinitely.

Defensviely, UL Monroe is allowing their opponents to average 76.3 ppg on 45.0% shooting from the field. The Warhawks have a rebound margin of -4.2 and a turnover margin of 2.6.

The Trojans are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games, however, are 0-10 ATS in their last 10 games vs. UL Monroe. The Warhawks are just 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games & just 2-4 ATS in their last 6 Thursday games.

Troy has been led by their defense which ranks 72^nd in scoring defense & 44^th in defensive FG%, however, have struggled a bit offensively as the Trojans currently rank just 173^rd in scoring offense & 203^rd in FG%. UL Monroe has been led by their offense which ranks t-76^th in scoring offense & 55^th in FG%, however, the Warhawks have really struggled defensively and currently rank just 319^th in scoring defense & 283^rd in defensive FG%.

Troy is the better team in my opinion, however, the Trojans haven’t played for almost two weeks and go against a team that they just don’t have much ATS success against. UL Monroe has been inconsistent this season, however, they do have some nice wins against SFA & UT Arlington and between the fact that I think their offense finds some success against the Troy defense & that the Warhawks are 6-1 at home, I’m taking UL Monroe and the points. Good Luck!