Lipscomb (14-8) vs Bellarmine (3-19)
February 1, 2025 at 05:00 PM EST
The Line: Betting Odds: Lipscomb -19 — Over/Under: 144.5
The Bellarmine Knights and the Lipscomb Bisons meet Saturday in college basketball action from Allen Arena. Here’s a Bellarmine vs Lipscomb prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Bellarmine vs Lipscomb pick. We will examine:
The Bellarmine Knights’ recent form and player performance
The Lipscomb Bisons’ recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Bellarmine Knights
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Lipscomb Bisons
Recent betting trends in games played between Bellarmine and Lipscomb
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Bellarmine vs Lipscomb game
Bellarmine Knights Betting Preview
Bellarmine really only has one decent run of games so far this year. Otherwise, it’s been a long string of defeats in a tough campaign. The Knights lost their first five to VCU, VMI, Southern Indiana, Marshall, and Louisville. A 3-2 stretch came next featuring wins over Bowling Green, Midway University, and Brescia mixed with losses to Northern Kentucky and Western Carolina. Bellarmine has since hit the skids once again with a lengthy run of defeats. Those have come versus Ball State, Wyoming, Colorado, North Alabama, Central Arkansas, Jacksonville, North Florida, Lipscomb, Eastern Kentucky, Florida Gulf Coast, Stetson, and Austin Peay in succession, resulting in an ugly 3-19 overall record so far this year for the Knights.
In the Austin Peay game, Bellarmine came back from a 42-31 halftime deficit to force overtime. The Knights were outscored 15-6 from there, however, and eventually lost 86-77. Leading the team in the losing effort was Billy Smith with 25 points, one rebound, three assists, and two steals. Jack Karasinski chipped in 12 points with three rebounds and one assist as well.
Lipscomb Bisons Betting Preview
Over on the Lipscomb side, they opened the year on a pretty shaky run but they’ve been quite consistent since mid-November. The Bisons lost four of their first six games versus Arkansas, Belmont, Western Kentucky, and Kentucky, then hit wins over Jackson State, Alabama A&M, Chattanooga, SEMO, and Truett-McConnell. A 3-2 run came next with losses to Middle Tennessee and Queens amid wins over Asbury, Jacksonville, and North Florida. Since then it’s been a 4-2 run with wins over West Georgia, Bellarmine, Austin Peay, and Central Arkansas for a 14-8 overall run through the first 22 games of the season for the Bisons.
Matched up against Eastern Kentucky in their Thursday game, the Bisons were down by seven points going into the second half. Lipscomb didn’t end up getting any closer than that, ultimately falling 80-71 by the game’s end. Jacob Ognacevic led the team with a double-double of 20 points with 12 rebounds, and Joe Anderson added 17 points with six boards and five assists. Charlie Williams chipped in with nine points and four boards off the bench.
Why the Lipscomb Bisons will win
- Lipscomb has won each of its last 17 day games at Allen Arena against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- Bellarmine has lost each of its last 15 road games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- Lipscomb has won the first half in seven of its last eight day games.
Bellarmine vs Lipscomb Prediction
I’ll stay with Lipscomb. The Bisons need a good bounce-back game here, however, following their home loss to a middling Eastern Kentucky squad. Lipscomb shot just 38.7 percent from the field in that one with a 41-39 rebounding deficit, so they’ve got to get that shooting percentage up on Saturday. Lipscomb is now 1-2 in their last three outings, giving up 74 or more points in both losses.
The good news for the Bisons here is that they’ve already bagged a sizable road victory over Bellarmine this year, taking it 87-53 back on January 16. The Bisons started relatively slow in the first half on a 36-32 advantage but closed with 51 points on the way to 53.2 percent shooting overall. The 44-24 rebounding edge didn’t hurt, either. Meanwhile, the Knights shot just 33.3 percent from the field themselves in a poor performance at home. This one may not be quite so lopsided but I still like the Bisons to power it out.