Posted at 8:00 AM ET. Odds are subject to change

Delaware State +6 over NIAGARA

Gallagher Center – Lewiston, NY

6:30 PM ET. We were tempted to take the Hornets outright because everything about this spot screams Delaware State. Let’s start with the Purple Eagles. They live and die by their offensive identity. What is it, you ask? Firing up as many three-point attempts as humanly possible. They sit 80th in the nation in three-point attempts. The problem is that Delaware State is 67th in limiting those attempts, and for what it’s worth, Niagara’s threes have not fallen. They are shooting a 282nd-ranked 25 percent.

Take away that offensive acumen and what is left behind Niagara? Nothing meaningful. Their defense sits 250th or worse in every major category, and that is data collected against Duquesne and Binghamton. It worked against the Bearcats when they recently won as a 3.5-point underdog. But against the Dukes, the Hornets lost by 20 as a 17-point dog. That makes this scenario, a coin-flip as to which the cookie crumbles this evening. One does not want to lay points to find out.

Delaware State is 0–2, yet those losses came at Syracuse and at Temple, two tough places to win against two teams with real pedigree. This is a step down in opposition for the Hornets. Niagara, on the other hand, is a 50–50 proposition at best when trying to play their preferred style against comparable competition.

The matchup advantages lean toward D-State. The situational angle leans toward D-State. The strength of schedule leans toward D-State. That makes the Hornets the play here.

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