The American University Eagles and the William & Mary Tribe meet in college basketball action from Kaplan Arena on Thursday night.

American Pummeled by Villanova

The American University Eagles will look to rebound from a 90-63 loss to Villanova last time out. Colin Smalls led the Eagles with 16 points on 5 of 8 shooting with 3 threes while Jermaine Ballisager-Webb added 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting as the only other double-digit scorer for American in the losing effort. Lorenzo Donadio added a team-high 8 rebounds while Elijah Stephens chipped in 8 points with a team-high 4 assists as well in the defeat. As a team, American shot 33.9% from the field, 30% from three and 75% from the foul line in the losing effort.

William & Mary Pounds Subdivision Foe

The William & Mary Tribe come into this game looking to build on their 84-29 win over subdivision Regent last time out. Gabe Dorsey led the Tribe with 18 points coming on 6 threes while Chase Lowe was a perfect 5 of 5 from the floor for his 13 points with 5 rebounds. Trey Moss added 12 points on 3 of 9 shooting with 4 rebounds while Sean Houpt and Matteus Case each added 10 points to cap off the scoring in double figures for William & Mary in the win. Jack Karasinski added a team-high 11 rebounds and Charlie Williams chipped in 4 assists to lead the Tribe in that department. As a team, William & Mary shot 44.3% from the field, 30.3% from three and 71.4% from the foul line in the win.

Chris’ Pick

I’m going to side with William & Mary here, it’s not like it’s much of a step up from a subdivision team to the Eagles, no offense to American, but even in a step down in opposition from their opener, I don’t see American doing too much more here. The Eagles struggled in lesser spots last season and I’m optimistic for the Tribe this season. Give me William & Mary at home here.