Howard vs Norfolk State Prediction 1/25/25 College Basketball Picks

The Howard Bison and the Norfolk State Spartans meet Saturday in college basketball action from Joseph Echols Hall. Here’s a Howard vs Norfolk State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Howard vs Norfolk State pick. We will examine:

The Howard Bison’s recent form and player performance

The Norfolk State Spartans’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Howard Bison

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Norfolk State Spartans

Recent betting trends in games played between Howard and Norfolk State

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Howard vs Norfolk State game

Howard Bison Betting Preview

The Bison haven’t had very much luck in the win column so far this year, as they’re sitting below .500 overall right now. That said, Howard has had a couple of pretty solid stretches of play so far. The Bison opened on a 3-2 run with wins over Dillard, Tennessee State, and FIU behind losses to Kansas and Missouri. Defeats versus Boston U, UMBC, Mount St. Mary’s, and Cincinnati came next, then two more wins over Virginia Lynchburg and UNC Wilmington. Howard would fall to Drexel, Hampton, and Yale over the next trio before wins versus Delaware State, Morgan State, and Coppin State after that. Over the past two outings, the Bison have recorded losses to Bowie State and Morehouse for an 8-11 overall record so far.

In the Morehouse matchup on January 20, the Bison came out of halftime looking at a 40-28 deficit on the scoreboard. Howard got better from there on a 48-39 run but eventually took the loss 79-76 in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Marcus Dockery with 28 points, six boards, two assists, and four steals. Cameron Shockley-Okeke added 16 points with five boards, and Blake Harper had 13 points with six rebounds and eight assists in 39 minutes.

Norfolk State Spartans Betting Preview

Over on the Norfolk State, they’ve had a couple of rough stretches this year—specifically in November and December. Outside of that, however, it’s been a solid run for the Spartans. They opened on a 6-3 stretch with wins over Penn State Wilkes-Barre, Virginia Lynchburg, James Madison, Hampton, UC Davis, and Stony Brook. From there came a 3-3 run with losses to Hofstra, Baylor, and Northern Kentucky ahead of wins versus Alabama State, Grambling, and High Point. Norfolk State is 4-2 in their last six games. The losses in that time have been versus Tennessee and Morgan State. Otherwise, it’s been wins over Maryland Eastern Shore, Delaware State, Coppin State, and Washington Adventist for a 13-8 overall run this season.

Matched up against Washington Adventist in their Monday game, the Spartans went into the locker room holding a nice 52-23 edge. Norfolk State hit a 53-19 run the rest of the way, cruising to the blowout win 105-42 in the end. Leading scorer Brian Moore posted 20 points with eight boards and seven assists. Kuluel Mading doubled up on 16 points with 11 boards, and Melo Baines came off the bench for 16 points and eight rebounds in 20 minutes.

Why the Norfolk State Spartans will win

• Norfolk State has won 21 of its last 22 games at Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Howard has lost eight of its last 10 day games.
• Howard has lost the first half in each of its last five games at Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the Howard Bison will win

• Howard has won each of its last six games against Conference opponents.

Howard vs Norfolk State Prediction

I’ll lean toward Norfolk State. The Spartans are playing pretty well over this 4-2 run and coming off a win versus an overmatched Washington Adventist team. Norfolk State shot a very nice 59.4 percent from the field in that one alongside a 53-31 rebounding edge. That makes 73 or more points in five straight games for the Spartans.

As for Howard, they shot a tepid 39.7 percent from the field with 12 turnovers in their latest loss to Morehouse. The Bison have been scoring well themselves lately with 73 or more points in five straight, but they’re also giving up a lot on the other side. Norfolk State should score relatively easily for most of the game Saturday.