Holy Cross (11-11) vs Lehigh (7-13)
February 1, 2025 at 04:30 PM EST
The Line: Betting Odds: Holy Cross -2 — Over/Under: 140
The Lehigh Mountain Hawks and the Holy Cross Crusaders meet Saturday in college basketball action from Hart Center. Here’s a Lehigh vs Holy Cross prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Lehigh vs Holy Cross pick. We will examine:
The Lehigh Mountain Hawks’ recent form and player performance
The Holy Cross Crusaders’ recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Lehigh Mountain Hawks
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Holy Cross Crusaders
Recent betting trends in games played between Lehigh and Holy Cross
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Lehigh vs Holy Cross game
Lehigh Mountain Hawks Betting Preview
Lehigh managed to carve out a .500 run through their first 12 outings, but since then they’ve only been able to notch one victory. During that 6-6 stretch the Hawks beat Valley Forge, Marist, Monmouth, LIU, Newmann, and Bucknell. The losses otherwise were versus Northwestern, Georgetown, Columbia, UCLA, St Francis PA, and Dayton. Lehigh would go 1-7 over their next eight games with a lone win over Lafayette. Otherwise, it was losses to Loyola MD, Colgate, Army, Boston U, Loyola MD again, American, and Navy in succession for a rough 7-13 overall record through the Mountain Hawks’ first 20 games of the season.
In the Navy matchup on Wednesday, Lehigh posted a 29-22 deficit by halftime. The Hawks were outpaced 50-32 the rest of the way, resulting in a 79-54 loss by game’s end. Edouard Bennoit posted 15 points with two rebounds and one assist, while Tyler Whitney-Sidney put up 13 points with three rebounds and two assists. Also in double-figures was Hank Alvey with 12 points, four rebounds, and two blocks in 32 minutes of work on the court.
Holy Cross Crusaders Betting Preview
Over on the Holy Cross side, they were looking decent in early January but they’ve struggled on a rough record since then. The Crusaders’ first six games were a 4-2 stretch with wins over Sacred Heart, Brown, New Hampshire, and Mitchell College. A 1-3 run came next with losses to Maine, Virginia, and Central Connecticut alongside a lone win over Harvard. Holy Cross went 5-1 in the next six though, beating Quinnipiac, Siena, Regis, Loyola MD, and Navy with a loss to American. It’s been a 1-5 run since then though, with only a win over Loyola MD. Otherwise, the losses have come to Lafayette, Bucknell, American, Army, and Boston U in that time, giving the Crusaders a .500 record of 11-11 over their first 22 games so far this year.
Matched up against Boston U in their last outing, the Crusaders were behind by five points at halftime. Holy Cross didn’t get any closer than that on a 38-33 run in the second and took the eventual loss 69-59. Joe Nugent led the team in the losing effort with his 12 points, four boards, and two steals. Both Max Green (six rebounds; four assists) and DeAndre Williams (two rebounds; three assists) each chipped in 10 points as well.
Why the Holy Cross Crusaders will win
- Lehigh has lost 11 of its last 12 road games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
Why the Lehigh Mountain Hawks will win
- Holy Cross has lost six of its last seven day games against Conference opponents.
- Lehigh has won four of its last five games at Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex against non-AP-ranked opponents.
Lehigh vs Holy Cross Prediction
I’ll lean toward Holy Cross, but there’s not a lot to get excited about here unless you’re a fan of either team. The Crusaders posted a pedestrian overall effort versus Boston U in their latest loss, getting outfoxed on the boards 43-29 (17-5 offensive) with 12 turnovers for 12 Terriers points. Holy Cross didn’t shoot too badly (43.6 percent) but only scored 59 points. That total comes on the heels of a combined 141 in their previous pair (a 1-1 stretch).
As for Lehigh, they’ve been below 70 points in six of their last seven games, so this is something of a “lesser of two evils” scenario. Someone’s got to win though, and I think it’ll be Holy Cross this time.