The New Orleans Privateers and the San Francisco Dons meet in college basketball action from the War Memorial Gymnasium on Monday night. Can the Privateers hand the Dons their first home loss of the year? Or will the Dons defend home court? Let’s dive in and find out with a New Orleans vs. San Francisco Prediction.

New Orleans Team Preview

The New Orleans Privateers come into this one looking to rebound from an 87-82 loss at the hands of San Jose State last time out. Jordan Johnson leads the Privateers in scoring and assists with 23.3 PPG and 4.6 APG along with 3.4 RPG while Khaleb Wilson-Rouse has 12 PPG as the only other double-digit scorer for New Orleans up to this point in the year. Jamond Vincent has 7.8 PPG with 5.9 RPG to lead the Privateers on the glass so far this season. As a team, New Orleans is averaging 79.7 PPG on 42.3% shooting from the field, 29.9% from three and 75.8% from the foul line this season.

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San Francisco Team Preview

The San Francisco Dons come into this game looking to build on a 73-60 win that propelled them to 6-3 on the year. Jonathan Mogbo leads the Dons in scoring and rebounding with 15.2 PPG and 10.3 RPG along with 3.3 APG while Marcus Williams has 15.2PPG with 2.6 APG. Mike Sharavjamts has 10.1 PPG with a team-high 3.7 APG to lead the Dons in assists and to round out the trio of double-digit scorers for San Francisco so far this season. As a team, San Francisco is averaging 77.6 PPG on 49% shooting from the field, 34% from three and 74.8% from the foul line this season. San Francisco is 6-3 in the WCC, while Gonzaga is first with a 7-2 record.

New Orleans vs. San Francisco Prediction

I get the case to be made for a sizeable underdog like New Orleans who hasn’t been terrible from a scoring perspective this season, but the defense hasn’t been good, ranking 4th-worst nationally in 2-point defense and San Francisco is 42nd in 2-point shooting on offense where over 56% of their points come from. I just don’t think that New Orleans can hang around for 40 minutes, and I just feel like this is a game that’s competitive early but San Francisco pulls away big in the second half. I’ll lay it and play it with the Dons here.