American vs Army Odds and Picks (Jan. 19)

Odds as of January 18th, 2022, at BetMGM.

Editor’s note to the New York online betting community: This game will not appear at NY’s online sportsbooks. New York law prohibits sportsbooks from taking wagers on college teams located in New York state.  (The same applies to New Jersey online betting.)

Mike Brennan’s team got 18 points from sophomore guard Colin Smalls to lead the Eagles to an eight-point victory over Bucknell. Josh Alexander had 12 points in the victory, which saw American hold the Bison to just 23 first-half points — a season-low for them.

Meantime, Jimmy Allen’s club saw leading scorer Jalen Rucker score 15 to pace the Black Knights, but it was not enough in the 14-point loss to the Leopards. Junior forward Chris Mann had 10 points in the defeat.

American vs Army Rankings and Metrics

Neither of these teams is a factor in the 2022 March Madness odds at this stage of the season. Army sits 263rd in the NET ratings while American is 342nd out of 358 teams.

KenPom rates the Army and American 272nd and 338th, respectively.

Eagle Scout

American will be playing a road game for the first time Wednesday since a Dec. 21 67044 loss at George Mason. Brennan’s group hopes to carry the momentum of this past weekend’s victory.

Behind 18 points for Colin Smalls and eight rebounds for Matt Rogers, @AU_MBasketball beat Bucknell 63-55 for its first PL victory of the season! 👊 pic.twitter.com/galy7sILxC

— American U. Eagles (@AUeagles) January 16, 2022

Senior guard Stacy Beckton leads the squad in scoring at 12.8 points per game, but since stepping into the starting lineup in late November, Rogers has been up to the task. He leads the conference and ranks second in program history by shooting 64.2% from the field this season. The 6-foot-9 sophomore is averaging 9.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

Meantime, keep an eye on Beckton against Army. He’s only 54 points away from becoming the 33rd player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. He’s also only two swats away from moving into eighth place on AU’s all-time career blocks list.

The Eagles have lost three of their last four. But with Rogers’ efficiency and Beckton on the cusp of personal milestones, don’t be surprised if American is springs an upset in this spot.

Knight and Day

Prior to the Lafayette outing, Army found itself in a four-way tie for first place in the Patriot League with a 4-1 record — the program’s best start since the 2013-14 season. But after holding a three-point lead at halftime against the Leopards, it went downhill fast.

From the logo‼️#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/96CJVCecOy

— Army M.Basketball (@ArmyWP_MBB) January 16, 2022

Lafayette shot 59% from the field and led as many as 21 points in the second half to pull away for the win.

Army leads the conference with 39.3 rebounds per game and ranks second in the PL with 71.3 points per game. Rucker, a sophomore guard, ranks fifth in the conference with 15.3 points per game. The 2021 Patriot League All-Rookie Team honoree shoots 36.6% from beyond the arc and 78.9% from the charity stripe. He and Josh Caldwell are the only two players on the roster averaging double-figures. Caldwell, the 2021 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, goes for 12.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

Including the loss to Lafayette, Army has still won four of its previous six games and is back home Wednesday. The Black Knights are 6-1 in West Point this season.

American vs Army Pick

Prior to an 89-66 loss to Army at Christl in the PL Tournament quarters last year, American had won four straight games in this series.

The Black Knights are the higher-rated team by KenPom by 67 spots (271 vs. 338) and has good mojo on their home floor this season.

For whatever reason, American either loses close games or gets blown out. The Eagles are 0-9 in games decided by three points or less or by 20 or more. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where they win Wednesday by a margin between four and 20 points. The Black Knights only need a few more to cover the spread than that to cover the spread — and I think they’re up to the task.

Pick: Army -8.5 (-110)