Colonial Athletic foes will lock horns when the Drexel Dragons (2-11) challenge the William & Mary Tribe (9-4) at John A Daskalakis Center. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Thursday, Jan. 7.
The Dragons are hoping to rebound after their 83-78 loss to Elon in their last matchup. Rodney Williams was the team’s leading scorer with 19 points. The Tribe, meanwhile, are coming off a 78-70 win against Charleston in their last game. Omar Prewitt led the game in scoring by accounting for 26 points on 8-for-11 shooting.
Prewitt has been hot over the last five games for the Tribe, averaging 20.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 1.0 three-pointer.
William & Mary takes on Drexel as a five-point favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at 137 points. The Dragons have gone 2-11 Straight Up (SU) and 5-6-1 Against The Spread (ATS). The Dragons prevent teams from making three-pointers, ranking 26th in the nation with 77 total three-pointers allowed (5.0 per game).
In the other locker room, the Tribe have 9-4 SU and 4-3 ATS records. The Tribe convert their shots at a high percentage, ranking 49th in the country at .472. The Tribe are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking 45th in Division I at 1.35. Moving on to the William & Mary defense, the Tribe allow just 68.4 points per road game, ranking them 45th in the nation. The William & Mary defense has been a problem for competitors, allowing only 6.0 field goals from three-point range per game. Blocking shots is an area where William & Mary has excelled. The Tribe average 5.6 blocks per game, making them one of the best in the nation. One advantage for the Tribe could be Drexel’s high fouls per game average of 23.7.
This game marks the season’s first head-to-head clash between these conference foes. Their previous game was a Dragons victory, bringing the head-to-head record to an even 5-5 SU over their most recent meetings. With a 6-4 record, the Tribe have the advantage ATS. Drexel and William & Mary each held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers one time over the last five matchups.
Predictions: SU Winner – W&M, ATS Winner – W&M, O/U – Over
Notes
Drexel is 2-12 SU in its last 14 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Drexel’s last 9 games.
Drexel is 0-4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Drexel’s last 5 games at home.
Drexel is 5-13 ATS in its last 18 games when playing William & Mary.
Drexel is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games when playing at home against William & Mary.
Winless against their conference, the Drexel Dragons are 0-2 SU against their rivals, while William & Mary has an even 1-1 SU record against its foes.
Ranked 89th, the William & Mary Tribe have an offensive rating of 110.4. The Drexel Dragons rank 245th with a defensive rating of just 105.5.
The Drexel Dragons average a field goal percentage of 38.1% this season. The William & Mary Tribe have split their games this season (4-4) when opponents have a FG% of 38.1% or greater.
The Drexel Dragons average 15.0 three point attempts per game and are winless (0-1) when attempting at least 20 in a game. The William & Mary Tribe average 20.0 attempts and have a solid 6-3 record when attempting 20 or more.
William & Mary ranks 45th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.35. Drexel is ranked lower at 275th with an A/TO of .89.
William & Mary is one of the top defensive rebounding teams, ranking 19th. Drexel ranks 62nd in offensive rebounding.
William & Mary has forced an average turnover percentage of 15.4% this season. Drexel has an abysmal 2-9 record when its TO% is 15.4% or higher.
