St. Francis-Brooklyn vs Mount St. Mary’s 1/8/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers will travel to the Pope Physician Education Center to take on the St. Francis (BKN) Terriers this Saturday afternoon in College Basketball action.

The Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers dropped to 4-9 on the season after being defeated by the Long Island University Sharks, 74-57, this past Thursday. Mount St. Mary’s struggled on the offensive end against Long Island University defense and could not fight back after going into halftime trailing by a 36-21 margin. Mount St. Mary’s shot 42.6% from the field & 33.3% from beyond the arc while allowing Long Island University to shoot 45.7% from the field & 31.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Mountaineers was Mezie Offurum who had 12 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, & 1 steal.

On the season, Mount St. Mary’s is averaging 65.9 ppg on 42.8% shooting from the field. The Mountaineers are averaging 5.8 three-pointers per game on 33.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Mount St. Mary’s has been led by Jalen Benjamin (13.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 4.5 apg), Nana Opoku (10.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.8 bpg), Mezie Offurum (10.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.1 spg), & Malik Jefferson (6.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.2 bpg).

Defensively, Mount St. Mary’s is allowing their opponents to average 72.9 ppg on 47.2% shooting from the field. The Mountaineers have a rebound margin of -0.3 and a turnover margin of -2.6.

The St. Francis (BKN) Terriers snapped their 2-game losing streak and improved to 4-10 on the season after defeating the St. Francis (PA) Red Flash, 70-53, this past Thursday. St. Francis (BKN) was outstanding defensively against St. Francis (PA) and was able to pull away in the 2^nd half after taking a 48-34 lead with 11:31 left in regulation. St. Francis (BKN) shot 48.4% from the field & 38.9% from beyond the arc while holding St. Francis (PA) to just 35.2% shooting from the field & 29.4% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Terriers was Michael Cubbage who had 19 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, & 3 steals.

On the season, St. Francis (BKN) is averaging 66.8 ppg on 41.2% shooting from the field. The Terriers are averaging 7.0 three-pointers per game on 30.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, St. Francis (BKN) has been led by Michael Cubbage (12.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.8 apg, 2.3 spg), Patrick Emilien (10.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.3 apg), Rob Higgins (10.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.5 spg), & Tidrick Wilcox Jr. (9.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg).

Defensively, St. Francis (BKN) is allowing their opponents to an average of 69.1 ppg on 46.0% shooting from the field. The Terriers have a rebound margin of 1.5 and a turnover margin of -0.1.

The Mountaineers are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of less than .400 and 2-12 ATS in their last 14 Saturday games. The Terriers are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 home games vs. a team with a losing road record and just 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games overall.

Mount St. Mary’s has struggled on both ends of the court as the Mountaineers come into this game ranked just 295^th in scoring offense, 274^th in scoring defense, & 335^th in defensive FG%. St. Francis (BKN) has been led by their defense which ranks 200^th in scoring defense & 135^th in steals per game, however, the Terriers have struggled offensively as they currently rank just 283^rd in scoring offense & 298^th in FG%.

I’m not rushing to bet this one, however, I think it’s hard not to take St. Francis (BKN) as they have done a better job keeping opponents off the scoreboard and was competitive against a decent St. John’s team earlier this season. Mount St. Mary’s is just 1-7 on the road this season and have really struggled defensively and as I think St. Francis (BKN) can give a Mount St. Mary’s offense that is coming off a 57-point performance against Long Island University trouble, I’m taking St. Francis (BKN) to cover this small spread. Good Luck!