South Alabama vs James Madison 1/12/23 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The James Madison Dukes and the South Alabama Jaguars meet in college basketball action from the Mitchell Center on Thursday night.

The James Madison Dukes will look to rebound from back-to-back losses after a 71-62 loss to App State last time out. Vado Morse leads JMU in scoring with 12.7 PPG with a team-high 2.4 APG while Takai Molson has 11.3 PPG with 4.6 RPG this season. Terrence Edwards has 11.1 PPG with 4 RPG and 2.1 APG and Mezie Offurum has 10.5 PPG and 5.1 RPG to cap off the scoring in double figures for JMU so far this season. As a team, James Madison is averaging 86.5 PPG on 49.2% shooting from the field, 36.2% from three and 69.3% from the foul line this season.

The South Alabama Jaguars will try to bounce back from a 64-58 loss to Texas State in their last game. Isaiah Moore leads the Jaguars in scoring and assists with 17.5 PPG and 4.7 APG while Kevin Samuel has 11.3 PPG with a team-high 9.6 RPG to lead the Jaguars in rebounding and Greg Parham II has 10.6 PPG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for South Alabama so far this season. As a team, South Alabama is averaging 68.4 PPG on 44.8% shooting from the field, 31.3% from three and 67.5% from the foul line this season.

James Madison is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games and 10-4 ATS in their last 14 games overall while the under is 5-1 in their last 6 games following an ATS loss. South Alabama is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games against a team with a winning record while the under is 5-1 in their last 6 home games.

I get the case to be made for a home underdog like South Alabama, but the thing here is that between two teams that have struggled over the last week due to a lack of offense, I trust JMU to get the offense going a lot faster than I trust South Alabama. JMU’s offense has been electric for much of the year and I expect them to bounce back in this one. Give me the Dukes laying the points.