NJIT vs Bucknell Prediction College Basketball Picks 11/21/24

The NJIT Highlanders and the Bucknell Bison meet Thursday in college basketball action from Sojka Pavilion. Here’s an NJIT vs Bucknell prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best NJIT vs Bucknell pick. We will examine:

The NJIT Highlanders’ recent form and player performance

The Bucknell Bison’s recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the NJIT Highlanders

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Bucknell Bison

Recent betting trends in games played between NJIT and Bucknell

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the NJIT vs Bucknell game

NJIT Highlanders Betting Preview

The Highlanders have gotten plenty of activity in so far, with five games in the bag. NJIT hasn’t been able to record a win yet though, falling to Penn, Villanova, Loyola MD, and Morgan State in succession over their first four.

On Monday against George Washington, the Highlanders took another loss. NJIT was down 44-34 by the second half and got outscored 40-30 from there in an 84-64 result. Tariq Francis led the team on 20 points with nine assists during the defeat. NJIT will play against Bucknell, Cleveland State, Morehead State, UMass, and Seton Hall following this one.

Bucknell Bison Betting Preview

Over on the Bucknell side, they’ve had a little success through five games. The Bison beat Delaware 85-73 in their opener then took out Southern Indiana 75-69 in game two. Losses to Kentucky and Mount St. Mary’s came in the next pair, however.

Bucknell got back into the win column versus Richmond on Saturday. At halftime, the Bison were down 37-19 but they were able to rally for a dramatic win in double overtime 80-76. Noah Williamson doubled on 26 points with 10 rebounds along the way. Bucknell will meet Rider, Maryland, Siena, St. Bonaventure, and Radford after this game.

Why the Bucknell Bison will win

• NJIT has lost each of its last 11 games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Bucknell has won 11 of its last 12 night games at Sojka Pavilion following a home win.
• Bucknell has won the first half in six of its last seven night games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the NJIT Highlanders will win

• Bucknell has lost each of its last five night games following an overtime win.

NJIT vs Bucknell Prediction

I’ll probably just stay with Bucknell. The Bison started very slowly versus Richmond in their last game, however, everything worked out well in the end with a thrilling win. Bucknell shot 46.2 percent from the field with 39 rebounds but went just 24-of-33 (72.7 percent) from the line and had a whopping 22 turnovers. It was the Bison’s third overtime game this year (a 2-1 record).

As for NJIT, they’ve given up a combined 165 points over their last pair and haven’t hit the 70-point threshold all season. The Highlanders are in for a rough campaign in 2024-25 if they can’t find some sort of consistent offensive rhythm.

Andrew Jett's Pick: Bucknell Bison -14