The Sacred Heart Pioneers (4-5) will be at home in William Pitt Center – West Gym when they take on the Lafayette Leopards (1-6). Action gets underway at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 9, 2017.
Lafayette Leopards at Sacred Heart Pioneers ATS Preview
In the Leopards last matchup, they fell to the Penn Quakers, 73-68. Matt Klinewski put together a good game for Lafayette, leading both teams in scoring with 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting. Penn had a much better offensive rebounding percentage (22.0 vs. 15.2). Lafayette, on the other hand, did a great job of making free throws (12-14; 85.7 percent).
The Pioneers will look to maintain momentum after defeating the Dartmouth Big Green in their last game, 79-73. Sacred Heart received a boost from Sean Hoehn, who led the team in scoring with 19 points on 6-for-12 shooting. The Pioneers had a great effective field goal percentage of 0.573 (above their season average of 0.471) and had a free throw rate of 0.291 (above their season average of 0.207).
It will be a showdown of opposite tempos as the up-and-down Pioneers will look to push the more half-court-oriented Leopards. Dating back to the 2016-17 season, the Pioneers rank 74th in possessions per game while the Leopards are 205th.
The Pioneers won the only game against the Leopards last season, 85-61. The Pioneers played a perfect game. They had a ridiculous offensive rebounding percentage of 35.1 and a great free throw rate of 0.290. For those same stats, the Leopards had marks of 20.5 and 0.175, respectively.
Lafayette Leopards vs. Sacred Heart Pioneers Betting Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Lafayette, ATS Winner – Lafayette, O/U – Over
Betting Notes (2016-Present):
- The Pioneers rank 167th in three pointers allowed per game (21.6) while the Leopards rank 296th (25.9).
- Sacred Heart ranks 136th in assists per game (14.0) while Lafayette ranks 228th (12.4).
- Sacred Heart ranks 78th in rebounds per game (37.8) while Lafayette ranks 296th (31.3).
- The Leopards rank eighth in blocks allowed per game (2.2) while the Pioneers rank 205th (4.0).
- Sacred Heart ranks 108th in steals per game (6.6) while Lafayette ranks 266th (4.9).
