The NJIT Highlanders face the Army Black Knights in the first round of the CIT tournament at Fleisher Center. The game gets underway at 7:30 pm ET on Wednesday, Mar. 16.
The Highlanders are hoping for a better outcome after their 82-67 loss to Stetson in the 1 of the Atlantic Sun tournament. Damon Lynn was the team’s high scorer with 24 points. The Black Knights, meanwhile, are coming off a blowout 60-38 loss against Holy Cross in the 3 of the Patriot League tournament. Kyle Wilson had a good shooting night, leading the team with 12 points.
The Highlanders come into this game 17-14 Straight Up (SU) and 4-3 Against The Spread (ATS). The Highlanders are one of the best in Division I in terms of free throw percentage, shooting a superb .743 from the free throw line.
As for their opponent, the Black Knights have 19-13 SU and 4-5-1 ATS records. In the last 10 games, Army has a 6-4 SU record, but are below par ATS with a record of 0-1. Army is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation, making 8.0 shots from three-point range per game. The Black Knights are a force on the boards, grabbing an average of 40.7 rebounds per game.
Following the Highlanders’ latest win over the Black Knights, they are also even SU at 3-3.
Predictions: SU Winner – Army, ATS Winner – Army
Notes
The Army Black Knights have a defensive rating of 102.2 (ranked 75th), while the NJIT Highlanders have an offensive rating of 106.8 (ranked 154th).
The Army Black Knights average a field goal percentage of 43.1% this season. The NJIT Highlanders have a losing record of 4-11 when opponents have a FG% of 43.1% or greater.
The NJIT Highlanders and the Army Black Knights both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. NJIT is 165th and 112th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Army is 221st and 185th in these categories.
NJIT ranks 40th in assists, recording 15.7 per game. Army ranks 59th with 15.2 assists per game.
The Army Black Knights average 40.7 rebounds per game and are ranked 17th. The NJIT Highlanders average 34.7 rebounds per game, ranked 250th.
The Army Black Knights rank 64th in offensive rebounds. The NJIT Highlanders rank 187th in the nation in defensive rebounds.
On average, NJIT forces a turnover rate of 19.4%. When Army turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 8-4 record.
