American vs Bucknell Prediction 2/5/25 College Basketball Picks

The American Eagles and the Bucknell Bison meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Sojka Pavilion. Here’s an American vs Bucknell prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best American vs Bucknell pick. We will examine: 

The American Eagles’ recent form and player performance

The Bucknell Bison’s recent form and player performance 

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the American Eagles

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Bucknell Bison

Recent betting trends in games played between American and Bucknell

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the American vs Bucknell game

American Eagles Betting Preview

American has been a mixed bag so far this year. They’ve got some nice runs mixed with some ugly streaks. The Eagles opened at 1-4 with losses to La Salle, Siena, North Carolina, and High Point, then took wins over UMKC, Puerto Rico-Bayamon, Albany, Notre Dame MD, and George Washington. A 1-5 run with losses to Saint Joseph’s, Virginia, UMBC, and Boston U came next, then another win streak. Those victories have come over Bucknell, Loyola MD, Holy Cross, Lehigh, Colgate, Lafayette, and Army for a 14-9 overall run so far this year. 

In the Army matchup on Saturday, the Eagles kicked off with a 31-27 advantage in the first half. American was outscored by one the rest of the way but still won 71-68 in the end. Leading the team was Matt Rogers with 20 points, eight boards, and one assist. Elijah Stephens added 14 points with six rebounds and four assists, while Colin Smalls chipped in with 11 points, two assists, and one rebound in 27 minutes of work during the victory. 

Bucknell Bison Betting Preview

Over on the Bison’s side, they had a rough run going in December/January but have been doing better lately. Bucknell beat Delaware, Southern Indiana, Richmond, and NJIT in their first six outings. A losing streak versus Rider, Maryland, Siena, St. Bonaventure, Radford, Gonzaga, Syracuse, and Lehigh came next, then a 4-1 stretch with wins over Colgate, Lafayette, Holy Cross, and Navy (with the loss to American. After losses to Colgate and Boston U, the Bison took out Loyola and Navy in the next pair, giving them a 10-13 record so far this year. 

Matched up against Navy on Saturday, the Bison were up 51-26 going into the second half. Bucknell was blitzed 49-34 in the second half but held on for an 85-75 win in the end. Top team scorer Noah Williamson had 29 points with 12 rebounds and two assists, while Elvin Edmonds had 14 points with three assists. Josh Bascoe added 11 points with seven assists and three rebounds during 35 minutes on the court. 

Why the Bucknell Bison will win

• Bucknell has won each of its last seven games against the Patriot League at Sojka Pavilion.
• American University has lost each of its last five night games at Sojka Pavilion against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• American University has lost the first half in each of its last five night games at Sojka Pavilion against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the American University Eagles will win

• American University has won each of its last seven games against the Patriot League.

American vs Bucknell Prediction 

I’ll stay with American. The Eagles need a better effort than they got in their tight home win over Army the last time out, though. In that one American shot well (49.1 percent) and had a 38-28 rebounding edge, but also gave up 15 turnovers for 17 Black Knights points. The Eagles have scored 68 or more points in all seven installments of this current win streak, and if they can hit that threshold again here, American will be in good shape. 

These teams last saw each other back on January 11 in a 68-58 home win for the Eagles. American started slowly in that one with just 22 first-half points but eventually got it together. The Eagles had turnover trouble in that matchup as well, posting 14 for 15 Bison’s points—Bucknell gave up 17 turnovers for a whopping 28 Eagles points, though. Needless to say, American needs to be much sharper in the road rematch or that winning streak is going to come to an end. With the Bison playing much better basketball as of late, I could see Bucknell pushing this one to its limit.