The William & Mary Tribe (14-6), the Colonial Athletic’s top shooting team, will be in action against the James Madison Dukes (16-6) at Kaplan Arena. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Sunday, Jan. 31.
The Tribe enter this game hoping for similar success after topping Delaware 94-79 on Thursday. David Cohn was the team’s leading scorer with 23 points on 7-for-12 shooting. The Dukes, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 78-73 loss against UNC Wilmington on Thursday. Ron Curry had a game-high 28 points.
William & Mary is a four-point favorite against James Madison and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at 144 points. The Tribe come into this game 14-6 Straight Up (SU) and 10-4 Against The Spread (ATS). Over their last 10 games, they have had success covering the spread (7-3). William & Mary is one of the most disciplined teams in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.50. Teams usually don’t get many offensive rebounds against the Tribe, who are one of the top defensive rebounding teams in the country with an average of 28.9 per game.
As for their opponent, the Dukes have 16-6 SU and 10-9 ATS records. Offensively, they average 79.4 points per game on the road, which is 19th in the country. The Dukes rely heavily on three-pointers on offense, ranking 27th in the nation with 201 made (9.0 per game). Defensive rebounding is an area where James Madison has excelled. The Dukes average 28.9 defensive rebounds per game, making them one of the best in the nation.
These conference foes meet for what will be their first head-to-head battle of the season. William & Mary won the last game in the matchup, bumping its SU record to 6-4 over James Madison in their most recent meetings. The teams are even ATS, with a 5-5 record. William & Mary held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers one time, while James Madison was never able to do so in their most recent five games.
Predictions: SU Winner – W&M, ATS Winner – W&M, O/U – Over
Notes
William & Mary is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of William & Mary’s last 7 games.
William & Mary is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games at home.
William & Mary is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing James Madison.
William & Mary is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games when playing at home against James Madison.
Both William & Mary and James Madison come into the game with a record of 6-3 SU against conference foes.
James Madison is one of the top-scoring teams on the road, averaging 79.4 points per game (ranked 19th). William & Mary, on the other hand, allows 67.1 points per home game (ranked 152nd).
Ranked 61st, the James Madison Dukes have an offensive rating of 112.0. The William & Mary Tribe rank 167th with a defensive rating of just 102.4.
William & Mary has an average field goal percentage of 48.4% (ranked 23rd). James Madison is a losing 1-2 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The William & Mary Tribe and the James Madison Dukes both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. William & Mary is 23rd and 17th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while James Madison is 105th and 44th in these categories.
The William & Mary Tribe rank 24th in assists per game with an average of 16.8. The James Madison Dukes are among the worst in the country with 12.7 assists per game (ranked 230th).
William & Mary, the 32nd-ranked team in blocked shots, records an average of 5.2 per game. James Madison does worse, ranked 252nd with 2.8.
William & Mary ranks 314th in offensive rebounds, while James Madison ranks 27th in defensive rebounds.
On average, William & Mary makes 5.5 steals per game. James Madison has a winning 7-4 record when it gives up at least 5 steals.
