American vs Holy Cross Prediction 1/18/25 College Basketball Picks

The American Eagles and the Holy Cross Crusaders meet Saturday in college basketball action from the Hart Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s an American vs. Holy Cross prediction.

American Recap

The American Eagles come into this game looking to build on a 73-54 win over Loyola-Maryland last time out to improve to 9-9 on the year. After this game, American will head home for a game against Lehigh.

Eagles Win Back-To-Back Games

Matt Rogers leads the Eagles in scoring and rebounding with 16.5 PPG and 5.6 RPG while Colin Smalls has 11.2 PPG. Elijah Stephens has 10.8 PPG with a team-high 3.3 APG to lead the Eagles in assists and to round out the trio of double-digit scorers for American up to this point in the year. Greg Jones also has 9.1 PPG with 3.8 RPG and Matt Mayock has 8.2 PPG with 3.1 RPG as well on the season. As a team, American is averaging 69.2 PPG on 44.2% shooting from the field, 33.9% from three, and 74.6% from the foul line this season.

Why the American University Eagles will win

• Holy Cross has lost each of its last five day games against the Patriot League.
• American University has won 10 of its last 12 games against Holy Cross.

Holy Cross Recap

The Holy Cross Crusaders come into this game looking to bounce back after an 86-82 loss to Bucknell in their last game to drop to 10-8 on the year. After this game, Holy Cross will welcome the Army Black Knights to town.

Crusaders Lose Back-to-back Outings

Max Green leads the Crusaders in scoring and assists with 13.3 PPG and 3.8 APG along with 5.2 RPG while Joe Nugent has 13.1 PPG with 5.3 RPG and Caleb Kenney has 12.1 PPG with 4.5 RPG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Holy Cross up to this point in the year. Jaiden Feroah also has 6.6 PPG with a team-high 6.3 RPG to lead Holy Cross in rebounding up to this point in the year. As a team, Holy Cross is averaging 70 PPG on 45.6% shooting from the floor, 39.9% from behind the arc, and 76.2% from the foul line so far this season.

Why the Holy Cross Crusaders will win

• American University has lost each of its last seven away games when playing with a rest advantage.
• The home team has won each of Holy Cross’ last six games.

Total Points Facts

• Seven of American University’s last eight road games against Conference opponents have produced a total of 135 or fewer points.
• Seven of Holy Cross’ last eight games against Conference opponents have produced a total of 139+ points.

American vs. Holy Cross Prediction

I’m going to back the over here. These are two of the better offenses in the Patriot League up to this point in the year, as Holy Cross leads the conference in offensive efficiency and 3-point shooting as well as sitting 2nd in free throw shooting, so scoring won’t be a problem for the Crusaders. What will be a problem is trying to stop American with the worst defense in the conference. American leads the Patriot League in free throw shooting percentage and is 2nd in 3-point shooting as well. I think we have a higher-scoring game on our hands here so give me the over.

Chris Ruffolo's Pick: Over 136