This matchup between the Navy Midshipmen and Army Black Knights will take place at Madison Square Garden. The game gets underway at 2:00 pm ET on Saturday, Jan. 23 and will air on CCS.
The Black Knights were beaten by Holy Cross 69-65 on Wednesday. Dylan Cox had a good game for Army, recording 10 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. The Midshipmen are coming off a 69-64 win over Lehigh on Wednesday. Tom Lacey led the game in scoring by registering 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting.
This game should be a battle of contrasting styles. The Black Knights (ranked 20th in the nation in possessions per game) prefer an up-tempo style of play, while the Midshipmen (342nd) are slow-paced.
Army, a five-point favorite, will look to capitalize at home against Navy. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is set at 135 points. The Black Knights enter the game with records of 12-7 Straight Up (SU) and 1-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They have outperformed expectations over their last 10 games, going undefeated ATS (1-0) and 5-5 SU. The Black Knights are one of the best in Division I in terms of three-point field goals, making 9.0 shots per game from beyond the arc. The rebounding edge goes to the Black Knights in this matchup, who are one of the top rebounding teams in the nation with an average of 41.0 boards per game. Crossing over to the defensive side of the court, the Black Knights have limited opponents’ efforts from beyond the arc, allowing 5.0 three-pointers made per game.
Across the court, The Midshipmen have yet to cover the spread in any of their matchups, going 0-2 ATS along with their SU record of 15-5.
These conference foes meet for what will be their first head-to-head battle of the season. Navy won the last game in the matchup, bumping its SU record over their most recent meetings to 6-4. With a 1-0 record, the Midshipmen also have the advantage ATS. Army and Navy each held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers once over the last five matchups.
Predictions: SU Winner – Army, ATS Winner – Army, O/U – Under
Notes
Army averages 81.0 points per game this season. Navy is one of the best teams in points allowed, giving up just 61.7 points per game (ranked 10th).
The Army Black Knights rank 98th for their offensive rating of 109.3. The Navy Midshipmen have a defensive rating of 96.2 (ranked 50th).
The Army Black Knights average a field goal percentage of 45.2% this season. The Navy Midshipmen have a losing record of 1-4 when opponents have a FG% of 45.2% or greater.
The Army Black Knights rank lower for their field goal percentage (115th) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (68th), but the Navy Midshipmen have a better FG% ranking (126th) than eFG% ranking (238th).
Ranked 21st in the nation, Army has an average of 17.2 assists per game. Navy ranks lower at 186th with 13.3.
Navy, the 88th-ranked team in blocked shots, registers an average of 4.3 per game. Army does worse, ranked 194th with 3.3.
Army ranks 89th in offensive rebounding. Navy ranks 251st in defensive rebounding.
The Army Black Knights make an average of 5.7 steals per game. When the Navy Midshipmen allow 5 or more steals, they are a solid 11-5.
