The Lafayette Leopards (3-9, 1-1 Pat) look to end their six-game road losing streak when they challenge the Colgate Raiders (7-6, 2-0 Pat), who will attempt to prolong their five-game home winning streak. Action gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, January 5, 2018.
Lafayette Leopards vs. Colgate Raiders ATS Preview
The Leopards defeated the Holy Cross Crusaders in their last game, 60-48. Alex Petrie was the games leading scorer with 29 points on 8-for-12 shooting. Lafayette played a nearly perfect game. They had a free throw rate of 0.245 (above their season average of 0.221) and an offensive rebounding percentage of 20.6 (above their season average of 16.8). Holy Cross put up marks of 0.185 and 16.2, respectively, for those same stats.
The last time the Raiders played, they beat the American University Eagles, 72-63. With 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting, Jordan Swopshire was Colgate’s high scorer. Colgate dominated nearly every facet of the game. They had a turnover percentage of 14.0 (better than their season average of 15.7) and an offensive rebounding percentage of 15.2 (below their season average of 25.2). For those same stats, American University was 25.3 and 12.0, respectively.
The productive offense of Colgate (79th in the NCAA with an offensive efficiency of 111.2) will battle against the mid-tier defense of Lafayette (219th in the NCAA with a defensive efficiency of 103.8). The Raiders should have the edge on that end of the court.
This will be the first matchup of the year between these two teams. Each won one of the two games played against each other last season. The Leopards won the last matchup 73-69. The Leopards played a nearly perfect game. They had a turnover percentage of 16.4 and an offensive rebounding percentage of 20.0. The Raiders were 18.9 and 18.5, respectively, for those same stats.
Lafayette Leopards at Colgate Raiders Free Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Lafayette, ATS Winner – Lafayette, O/U – Under
Betting Notes:
- The Leopards rank 233rd in rebounds per game (32.8) while the Raiders rank 237th (32.7).
- Colgate averages 26.6 three pointers per game, which ranks 38th in the nation. Lafayette ranks 200th in three pointers allowed per game (24.2).
- The Leopards rank 20th in blocks allowed per game (2.3) while the Raiders rank 39th (2.7).
- Lafayette is 37th in the nation with 5.3 steals allowed per game while Colgate is 47th with 5.5 steals allowed per game.
Betting Trends:
- The Raiders average margin of victory in their last five games has been 12.4, up from 3.8 for the season.
- During their last five games, the Leopards have scored an average of 67.4 points per game (0.7 above their season average) and allowed an average of 67.8 points per game (3.5 below their season average).
