LIU vs Niagara Prediction College Basketball Picks 12/1/24

The Niagara Purple Eagles and the LIU Sharks meet Sunday in college basketball action from the Kirby Sports Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Niagara vs. LIU prediction.

Niagara Recap

The Niagara Purple Eagles come into this one looking to bounce back from a 59-47 loss at the hands of Lafayette last time out. After this game, Niagara will head home for a date with Siena to start conference play.

Purple Eagles Looking To Rebound

Olumide Adelokun leads Niagara in scoring and rebounding with 13.3 PPG and 5 RPG while Jahari Williamson has 13.2 PPG. Jaeden Marshall has 10.3 PPG with 3.7 RPG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Niagara up to this point in the year. Justice Smith also has 8.8 PPG with 3.5 RPG and a team-high 2.8 APG to lead Niagara in the assist department up to this point in the year. As a team, Niagara is averaging 74 PPG on 45.7% shooting from the field, 38.7% from three, and 70.9% from the foul line this season.

Why the Niagara Purple Eagles will win

• LIU has lost 27 of its last 30 games against non-conference opponents.
• Niagara has won each of its last four day games played at neutral venues.

LIU Recap

The LIU Sharks come into this game looking to rebound after a 75-70 loss to Binghamton in OT last time out. After this game, the LIU Sharks will play against UMass Lowell.

LIU Drop Third Straight

Malachi Davis leads the Sharks in scoring with 18.8 PPG and 3.3 APG while Brent Davis has 10.8 PPG in 3 games so far this season as the only other double-digit scorer for LIU up to this point in the year. Blake Lander has 9 PPG while Jamal Fuller has 9 PPG with 5.1 RPG. Terell Strickland has 8.3 PPG with 5.1 RPG and a team-high 4.3 APG to lead the Sharks in assists while Shadrak Lasu has a team-high 6.7 RPG to lead the Sharks on the glass so far this season. As a team, LIU is averaging 71.8 PPG on 43.6% shooting from the field, 32.5% from three, and 67.1% from the foul line this season.

Why the LIU Sharks will win

• Niagara has lost five of its last six games.
• LIU has won five of its last six games after coming off overtime.

Niagara vs. LIU Prediction

I’m with Niagara here. In what I envision as a coin flip, I want the team that’s more likely to hit their free throws in crunch time, and Niagara is the better free throw shooting team by a fair margin and they’re also facing an LIU team that gives up the most free throws per game in the country. I think Niagara has the edge here and as such, I’ll back the Purple Eagles.