Niagara vs Mount St. Mary’s Prediction College Basketball Picks 1/5/25

The Niagara Purple Eagles and the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers meet Sunday in college basketball action from Knott Arena. Here’s a Niagara vs Mount St. Mary’s prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Niagara vs Mount St. Mary’s pick. We will examine:

The Niagara Purple Eagles’ recent form and player performance

The Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Niagara Purple Eagles

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers

Recent betting trends in games played between Niagara and Mount St. Mary’s

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Niagara vs Mount St. Mary’s game

Niagara Purple Eagles Betting Preview

The Eagles were able to take out Houghton in their first game of the year but then hit the skids on a four-game losing streak. Niagara lost to Michigan State, Detroit, Bowling Green, and Kent State in that quartet. A 3-1 stretch came after that. The Purple Eagles’ only loss in that time was versus Lafayette. Otherwise, it was wins over Binghamton, Long Island University, and Siena. Since then it’s been a 2-2 stretch. The Purple Eagles have wins over St. Francis PA and Le Moyne in that time with losses otherwise versus Merrimack and St. Bonaventure.

In the Le Moyne matchup on December 29, the Purple Eagles came out of the break looking at a 42-36 advantage on the scoreboard. Niagara kept it going in the second half with a 46-33 run and eventually took the victory 88-69 to move to 6-7 overall on the year. Niagara’s leading scorer was Jaeden Marshall, who came off the bench for 21 points, three rebounds, and two assists. Justice Smith added 15 points with five rebounds and three assists, while both Zion Russell (four rebounds; two assists) and Jahari Williamson (bench) added 11 points each.

Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers Betting Preview

Over on the Mount St. Mary’s side, they managed to go 5-2 over their first seven games in a pretty nice start. The Mountaineers lost to only Maryland and Georgetown in those games. Otherwise, it was wins over Notre Dame MD, Bucknell, St. Francis PA, Delaware State, and Howard. A 1-2 stretch came after that with a win over Fairfield surrounded by losses to Marist and Loyola MD. Following two more consecutive wins over Long Island University and Miami, the Mountaineers took another loss to George Mason last weekend for an 8-5 overall record.

In the George Mason game, the Mountaineers came out of halftime with a 30-28 lead and were looking fairly good. Mount St. Mary’s provided just 26 points in the second half, however, resulting in a 64-56 loss. Dola Adebayo was the only starter in double-figures with his 13 points and seven boards. Terrell Ard came off the bench to notch 11 points with nine rebounds, two blocks, and four assists. Xavier Lipscomb led the other four starters with a tepid six points, five assists, and two rebounds in the losing effort.

Why the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers will win

• Mount St. Mary’s has won four of its last five day games.
• Niagara has lost four of its last five day games against Conference opponents.
• Niagara has lost the first half in three of its last four games.

Why the Niagara Purple Eagles will win

• Niagara has won three of its last four road day games against the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
• Mount St. Mary’s has lost three of its last four games against Conference opponents.

Niagara vs Mount St. Mary’s Prediction

I’ll stay with Mount St. Mary’s. The Mountaineers need a better effort here than they got versus George Mason, though. Mount St. Mary’s shot a rough 33.9 percent from the field in that one with a 44-33 rebounding deficit and 10 turnovers for 11 Patriots points. It would have been worse if not for the 24 points off 16 George Mason turnovers. Mount St. Mary’s had notched 69 or more points in four straight games prior to that, so it’d be nice for them to get back into the 70s here. That threshold would mark a positive offensive sign for the Mountaineers.

As for Niagara, they’re coming off a pretty decent effort versus Le Moyne and have notched 69 or more points in each of their last three wins. The Eagles will likely need around 70 points for a win here as well, so the first (or only) team to make it will be in great shape.