North Carolina Central (11-14) vs Morgan State (10-14)
February 17, 2025 at 07:30 PM EST
The Line: Betting Odds: North Carolina Central -7 — Over/Under: 158.5
The Morgan State Bears and the North Carolina Central Eagles meet Monday in college basketball action from McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium. Here’s a Morgan State vs North Carolina Central prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Morgan State vs North Carolina Central pick. We will examine:
The Morgan State Bears’ recent form and player performance
The North Carolina Central Eagles’ recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Morgan State Bears
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the North Carolina Central Eagles
Recent betting trends in games played between Morgan State and North Carolina Central
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Morgan State vs North Carolina Central game
Morgan State Bears Betting Preview
The Bears have had a pretty choppy season overall but they’ve been doing slightly better lately. Morgan State opened on a 6-8 run with wins over Frostburg State, District of Columbia, NJIT, Central Penn, Cheyney PA, and Campbell. A 1-4 stretch came next with a lone win over NC Central amid losses to Iowa State, Minnesota, South Carolina State, and Howard. Following wins over Norfolk State, Coppin State, and MD Eastern Shore the Bears fell to Delaware State. That would give Morgan State an overall record of 10-13 through the first 23 games this year.
Over the weekend versus South Carolina State, the Bears were blitzed 52-31 in the first half. Morgan State didn’t get any closer on a 38-31 second half and lost 90-62 in blowout fashion in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Kiran Oliver with 17 points and four rebounds in the losing effort. Kameron Hobbs added 16 points with four rebounds and four assists as well.
North Carolina Central Eagles Betting Preview
Over on the NC Central side, they’ve been quite a mixed bag in the record column as well this year. The Eagles similarly went 6-8 in their first 14 games, taking out William & Mary, Carolina University, Virginia Lynchburg, Gardner-Webb, Longwood, and Mid-Atlantic Christian in that time. NC Central would also go 1-4 in their next five, beating St. Andrews with losses to Longwood, North Carolina A&T, Coppin State, and Morgan State. Following wins over MD Eastern Shore, Delaware State, and South Carolina State, the Eagles fell versus Norfolk State and Howard. The result through 24 games was a 10-14 run overall for NC Central.
Matched up against Coppin State on Saturday, the Eagles were up by one point at the break. NC Central hit a 40-29 run the rest of the way though, powering out a 71-59 win. Po’Boigh King led the team with 16 points and four rebounds along the way. Tops in scoring off the bench was Aquan Smart with 13 points, three assists, two blocks, and two turnovers in 11 minutes of action out on the floor.
Why the North Carolina Central Eagles will win
- The home team has won 15 of Morgan State’s last 16 games.
- North Carolina Central has won the first half in 18 of its last 20 night games at McDougald-McLendon Arena.
Why the Morgan State Bears will win
- Morgan State has won each of its last three games against North Carolina Central.
Morgan State vs North Carolina Central Prediction
I’ll try Morgan State in this one, but they need a solid recovery after a bad loss over the weekend. You could probably call it either way, though. On Saturday the Bears were roughed up on the road versus South Carolina State, shooting just 32.9 percent from the field with a 42-39 rebounding deficit and 13 turnovers for 23 Bulldogs points. Morgan State has now lost consecutive games but they’re still scoring well overall.
These teams had a close finish in their last matchup, with Morgan State eking out a 102-98 home win in double overtime on January 7. Both teams shot exactly 45.3 percent from the field and had some comparable rebounding numbers, but Morgan State did better form the line (29-of-37) than the Eagles (21-of-36). It was a sloppy game overall though, with 31 total turnovers (15 for Morgan State). Both teams could stand to post a cleaner effort here, but it should be a competitive matchup overall. It’ll be a good one to watch if they both play well.