Navy vs Army prediction, pick, College Basketball odds
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It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Navy-Army prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Navy-Army.
The Navy Midshipmen and the Army Black Knights play a rivalry game on Sunday afternoon in West Point. Navy is 6-14 and 3-4 in the Patriot League, while Army is 11-8 overall and 5-2 in the conference. When you size up this game from a pure betting perspective, you will look at those records and find it logical to think that Army is the better team. As a point of fact, it’s true. No one in any sport can say that a 6-win team is better than an 11-win team. That’s an objective numerical reality. Army is the better team. The real question is: By how much?
Army has won five games in a row, but all five of those wins have been by six points or fewer, and four of them have been by five or fewer. Army has simply become uncommonly good at winning tight games and making the big plays at the ends of games. What is really interesting about those wins beyond the margin of victory is that Army has scored 68 to 76 points — nothing more or less — in each of those five games. Army is basically a team which is going to play a game in the low-to-mid 70s and win by one or two baskets. It’s really rather remarkable. Good teams do win close games, but good teams also win by decisive margins. With Army right now, every win is a close one, which does suggest that this is not a sustainable pace and that some close-game regression (if not overall regression) is going to emerge for the Black Knights at some point.
Navy, for its part, has had a tough time winning close games. Navy plays competitive basketball but usually comes up short. The Midshipmen have lost four of their last five, and of those four losses, three were by seven points or fewer, two by four or fewer. Navy and Army are on opposite sides of the divide in terms of overall record and late-game prowess. Navy could be 9-11 instead of 6-14. Army could easily be 8-11 instead of 11-8. That might give you a better understanding of why an 11-8 team is barely favored at all over a 6-14 team at home.
Here are the Navy-Army College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
College Basketball Odds: Navy-Army Odds
Navy: +1.5 (-114)
Moneyline: +100
Army: -1.5 (-106)
Moneyline: -120
Over: 142.5 (-105)
Under: 142.5 (-115)
How to Watch Navy vs Army
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT
TV: CBS Sports Network
*Watch college basketball LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*
Why Navy Will Cover The Spread/Win
Navy is bound to be better in close games, and Army is likely to regress and finally lose a close one. These are not large margins we are talking about here. Navy just needs a few more baskets and one or two defensive stops. Army is getting those big plays but might not replicate them in this game. The well could run dry for the Black Knights, who are like the gambler who keeps hitting on 16 and getting blackjack. At some point, the wrong cards are going to fall.
Why Army Will Cover The Spread/Win
Army wins close games. That’s simply what this team does. When a sports team wins a lot of close games, the belief and trust in the locker room build and grow for the next game, and it creates a culture in which a team doesn’t need to be told what to do. It just goes out and gets the job done when it matters. Guys enjoy playing with each other under pressure and help each other out in big moments. Army deserves to be trusted.
Final Navy-Army Prediction & Pick
We are leaning to Army but think this game is anyone’s to take. Pass.
Final Navy-Army Prediction & Pick: Army -1.5
The post Navy vs Army prediction, pick, College Basketball odds appeared first on ClutchPoints.
