Closing down tonight’s 16-game college basketball slate, the North Carolina A&T Aggies will face off with the Hampton Pirates. Tip-off is scheduled for 11:00 p.m. ET between these two CAA opponents.
Hampton enters as a 2.5-point favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook. North Carolina A&T holds +130 odds of pulling off the upset, with the game total set at 140.5 points.
This article will take a look at a preview for each side and a prediction for tonight’s late-night hoops matchup.
North Carolina A&T vs. Hampton preview
North Carolina A&T enter with a 9-14 record on the year, and are 2-10 in CAA conference play. They enter this matchup on a four-game losing streak and have dropped 10 of their last 12. On the season, the Aggies are 13-8 against the spread, with odds not offered on DraftKings Sportsbook for a pair of their matchups, and the game total has gone over in 11 of their 21 eligible games.
Monte Ross’ squad is scoring 74.8 points per game, which ranks 218th out of the 365 eligible D1 teams. The Aggies also rank 246th in offensive rating, 197th in field goal percentage, and 314th in three-point percentage. North Carolina A&T does do a nice job getting to the free-throw line, attempting the 12th most attempts at the charity stripe in the country. Defensively, opponents are scoring 76.2 points per game against them, which ranks 249th in the country. The Aggies also rank 239th in defensive rating, 217th in opponents’ field goal percentage, and 327th in opponents’ three-point percentage.
Lewis Walker headlines the scoring production for the Aggies, posting averages of 19.2 points and 5.5 rebounds, while shooting 38.2% on three-point attempts and getting to the free-throw line 7.2 times per game. Trent Middleton adds 12.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game, while shooting 33.8% on perimeter shots. Zamoku Weluche-Ume is the lone other active player averaging in double figures at 10.6 points, along with a team-leading 7.3 rebounds per game. Dwayne Pierce, William Felton, and Bryson Ogletree also play roles in the rotation.
The Hampton Pirates enter with a 12-13 record on the season, and are 6-6 in CAA conference play. They are riding a two-game winning streak into this matchup, which came over Elon and William & Mary, but have lost six of their last 10. On the season, the Pirates have gone 14-9 against the spread, with a pair of games also not offering odds, and the game total has remained under 14 times.
Hampton ranks 313th in the country in scoring by putting up 70.1 points per game. Ivan Thomas’ group also ranks 289th in offensive rating, 330th in field goal percentage, and 346th in team three-point percentage. Defensively, they have had more luck and are holding teams to 68.7 points per game, which ranks 59th among D1 teams. The Pirates rank 91st in defensive rating, 167th in opponents’ field goal percentage, and 45th in opponents’ three-point percentage.
Michael Eley is the team’s leading scorer at 12.7 points per game, along with 3.3 rebounds per game. However, Eley has missed seven games this season, including each the last four games, due to a turf toe issue. He exploded for a career-high 43 points against Campbell, but he last played on January 24th, and his status is uncertain for tonight.
Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt is the lone other player averaging in double figures, with 11.9 points and 3.1 assists per game. Daniel Johnson adds 9.7 points and 4.8 rebounds, while Xzavier Long is scoring 9.6 points and a CAA-leading 10.3 rebounds per game. Christian Watson, Josh Ogundele, and Etienne Strothers each also play key roles in the rotation.
North Carolina A&T vs. Hampton pick, best bet
These two conference opponents have faced off once already this season, which resulted in an 82-61 win by Hampton. North Carolina A&T was able to push their own lead as large as 11 and held a scoring advantage for 35% of the matchup, but Hampton proved to be the better team in what was a closer game than the score indicates. Hampton covered the 6.5-point spread.
While the first matchup was at Hampton, tonight will take place at a neutral site. My lean is toward the Pirates taking care of business tonight and producing another convincing win, but I am backing the game total to remain under the 140.5 game total.
The expectation seems that Michael Eley will remain sidelined with his turf toe issue. Even at full strength, Hampton has struggled to score the ball, and this will especially be the case without Eley. On the other side of things, North Carolina A&T’s leading scorer Lewis Walker was limited to a season-low five points in the first matchup with Hampton, despite averaging 19.1 points per game. He shot just 2-for-9 from the field overall and was bothered by Hampton’s strong defense.
North Carolina A&T was also limited to 13 free throws in this matchup, despite getting to the free-throw line at the 12th-best rate in the country. As long as Hampton can limit the fouls, it will be difficult for the Aggies to put many points on the board. The biggest defensive weakness for North Carolina A&T is its defense of the three-point line. But Hampton is not built to exploit this, as they rank 249th in three-point volume and 346th in three-point percentage.
Anyway you slice it, this is not a matchup I expect a lot of points to be put up. The game total finished at 143 in the first matchup, while A&T shot an uncharacteristic 40% on three-point attempts. The game total has gone under in three straight games for A&T, and the under has cashed in eight of Hampton’s last 12. Expect this game to be played at a slow pace throughout and for points to be difficult to come by on both sides of the matchup.
