Helping to close down the Sunday college basketball slate, the Towson Tigers will face off with the Monmouth Hawks. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET for this CAA conference battle.
This is the second time these teams have faced off this season. Towson was held to just 48 points in the first matchup, which tied their season-low in scoring, and resulted in a 62-48 Monmouth victory. This matchup took place on January 3rd.
Looking at the odds for this matchup, Monmouth enters as a narrow 1.5-point favorite with -118 moneyline odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. Towson holds -102 odds of winning outright, and the game total is set at 137.5 points.
Towson at Monmouth prediction, preview
The Towson Tigers hold a 14-12 record on the season, and have gone 6-7 in CAA Conference play. They are coming off a victory over Stony Brook in the previous game, but have lost three of their last five. On the season, Towson has gone 11-13 against the spread, and the game total has remained under in 16 of the 24 qualifying games.
Tyler Tejada leads the team in scoring with 17.1 points per game, along with 5.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Dylan Williamson adds 14.2 points and 3.5 assists, while Jack Doumbia is the lone other player to average in double figures with 10.5 points, along with his 5.3 rebounds per game. Jaquan Womack, Tyler Coleman, and Jaiden Cole each also play key roles in the rotation.
As a team, Towson is averaging 69.3 points per game, which ranks 321st out of the 365 D1 teams. The Tigers also rank 260th in offensive rating, 322nd in field goal percentage, 361st in field goal percentage, and 296th in free-throw percentage. The Tigers have had more success defensively, holding teams to the 25th-fewest points per game at 66.8 per contest. Towson also ranks 76th in defensive rating, 98th in opponents’ field goal percentage, and 56th in opponents’ three-point percentage.
The Monmouth Hawks hold a 13-12 record on the season, and have gone 7-5 in CAA conference play. They enter this matchup coming off back-to-back wins over Stony Brook and Drexel, and have won four of their last five games. On the season, Monmouth has gone 12-12 against the spread, and the game total has remained under in 13 of the 24 games with odds offered on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Kavion McClain missed the first 23 games of the season due to an investigation by the NCAA for a possible rules infraction. He was officially made available for the previous two games and is posting averages of 17.0 points, 5.5 assists, and 2.0 steals per game across these matchups. Jason Rivera-Torres has held down the primary scoring role in his absence, averaging 16.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per game. Justin Ray and Stefanos Spartalis also average in double figures, while Cornelius Robinson Jr., Andrew Ball, and Jack Collins also play notable roles.
King Rice’s squad is scoring 72.6 points per game, which ranks 264th in the country. Monmouth also ranks 268th in offensive rating, 278th in field goal percentage, and 148th in three-point percentage. Defensively, opponents are scoring 71.2 points per game against the Hawks, which ranks 109th in the country. Monmouth also ranks 114th in defensive rating, 114th in opponents’ field goal percentage, and 56th in opponents’ three-point percentage.
Towson at Monmouth pick, best bet
The addition of Kavion McClain changes the outlook for Monmouth in this matchup and moving forward. It took months to materialize, but the team finally looks as it was designed to in the summer. The 5-foot-9 guard provides a high-level scoring and playmaking ability, and has plenty of experience from his past stops at Abilene Christian and Texas Southern.
Monmouth produced a 62-48 victory in the first matchup between these two teams. Towson struggled to score the ball, shooting just 27% from the field and 23% on three-point attempts. They also got to the free-throw line just six times.
As the matchup returns to Monmouth’s home court, expect this same issue to prove problematic. Towson has struggled with their efficiency from all areas of the floor this season, and Monmouth has an effective enough defense to cause this problem to pop up. McClain provides a necessary additional offensive pop, and the Hawks are 2-0 against the spread with him in the lineup. In fact, Monmouth were slight underdogs in matchups against Stony Hill and Drexel, but won both games outright.
Look for the Hawks to build off their stretch of strong play and capitalize on an inferior Towson team. Monmouth has only looked more impressive since they last played, while the same concerns with Towson still exist. Expect similar results as the first game for Monmouth to assert itself once again. Neither of these teams are world-beaters, but there are far more holes in this Towson team that will show face again tonight.
