The Princeton Tigers and the Monmouth Hawks meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Multipurpose Activity Center. Princeton is 4-1 so far on the year and coming off a one-point win over Oregon State. As for Monmouth, they’re 3-1 and fresh off a win over Saint Joseph’s. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Princeton didn’t have any issues with Rutgers-Camden in their opener during a blowout win, then they eked by South Carolina 66-62. After an 87-80 loss to Minnesota, Princeton bounced back with an 80-61 win over Marist.
In Sunday’s matchup versus Oregon State, the Tigers had to fight the whole time but eventually ended up with a tight 81-80 win. Ethan Wright topped the team on 24 points with 10 boards, and Drew Friberg added 17 points with four assists and four rebounds.
Over on the Monmouth side, they took a tough loss 68-66 to Charlotte in their opener this year, but started a win streak afterward. In the next pair, the Hawks beat Towson 79-71 and Lehigh 85-75.
On Saturday against Saint Joseph’s, the Hawks kept their streak going with an 87-75 win. Monmouth scored 50 second-half points during the victory. Shavar Reynolds finished with 25 points and four rebounds to lead the team in scoring.
Monmouth is 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 at home and 4-0 ATS in their last four overall. The Hawks are 1-4 ATS in their last five Wednesday games.
Meanwhile, the Tigers are 6-2 ATS in their last eight after an ATS win and 10-1 ATS in their last 11 road games. Princeton is 3-12 ATS in their last 15 Wednesday games.
PICK: I’m going with Princeton. The Tigers have gotten off to a good start this year, and they notched a good effort against Oregon State in their last game. The Beavers shot a hot 56.4 percent from the floor, but Princeton was able to fend them off with a 37-28 rebounding edge and just seven turnovers.
As for Monmouth, they did a solid job against St. Joseph’s with 48.4 percent shooting and 43 rebounds. I think the Hawks can hang around here for a while before Monmouth eventually takes the cover/win. Should be a pretty entertaining matchup.