The Monmouth Hawks will travel to Newman Arena at The Fieldhouse to take on the Cornell Big Red. The game starts at 6:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Dec. 23.
The Big Red lost big to Syracuse 67-46 on Saturday. Darryl Smith was the best player for the Big Red, contributing seven points, four assists, and two rebounds. The Hawks, meanwhile, are coming off a 73-67 win over Rutgers on Sunday. Chris Brady played well, recording nine points, 10 rebounds, and one assist.
Cornell is a heavy 11-point underdog in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 146 points. The Big Red look to improve upon their records of 5-5 Straight Up (SU) and 1-4 Against The Spread (ATS). Expect Cornell to have lots of opportunities at the line against the Hawks, who are one of the most foul-prone teams in the nation with an average of 22.9 fouls per game.
On the other side, Monmouth has a SU record of 8-3 and an ATS record of 7-3. The Hawks are shooting lights out from the foul line so far, with a Division I-best .799 free throw percentage. Switching gears to the Monmouth defense, teams seem to consistently miss shots against the Hawks, who are the 44th-best team in the nation in terms of opponent field goal percentage allowed at .387. The Hawks are a terror on the defensive glass, averaging an impressive 29.0 defensive rebounds per game.
Cornell and Monmouth have not played one another in a regular season matchup in recent years.
Predictions: SU Winner – Monm, ATS Winner – Monm, O/U – Over
Notes
Cornell is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home.
Monmouth averages 78.0 points per away game (ranked 34th). Cornell allows 63.2 points per home game (ranked 95th).
Cornell averages 75.2 possessions per game, scoring .976 points on each possession. While Monmouth averages fewer possessions per game with 72.2, they score more points per possession with 1.070.
The Monmouth Hawks average an effective field goal percentage of 48.9% this season. The Cornell Big Red have a subpar record of 2-5 when opponents have an eFG% of 48.9% or greater.
On average, the Cornell Big Red attempt 24.0 three point field goals per game and the Monmouth Hawks attempt 20.0. In games where they attempt at least 20 threes, Cornell has a split 5-5 record, while Monmouth is 3-2.
Cornell ranks 303rd in offensive rebounds, while Monmouth ranks 32nd in defensive rebounds.
Opponents have had an average turnover percentage of 19.8% when playing Cornell this season. Monmouth is undefeated (3-0) when its TO% is 19.8% or higher.
