The Lafayette Leopards and the Army Black Knights meet Saturday in college basketball action from Christl Arena. Lafayette stands at 9-19 so far. The Leopards are coming off a loss to Loyola MD on Wednesday. As for Army, they’re 14-14 on the season. The Black Knights fell to Colgate in their Wednesday matchup. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Lafayette Leopards
Lafayette went a rough 6-14 over their first 20 games this year. The Leopards have since gone 3-5 with wins over Loyola MD, Holy Cross and Boston U alongside losses to Lehigh, Colgate, Navy, Lehigh again and Loyola MD again.
In the Loyola MD rematch on Wednesday, the Leopards were down 39-23 after a rough first half. Lafayette made a run at it with a 47-34 second half but ended up losing 73-70. Josh Rivera was the top team scorer on 19 points and nine rebounds.
Army Black Knights
Over on the Army side, they started out the year with an 11-9 stretch over 20 games. The Black Knights are 3-5 in their last eight as well, falling to Navy, American, Bucknell, Navy again and Colgate with wins over Holy Cross, Lehigh and Loyola MD.
On Wednesday versus Colgate, the Knights were down 49-36 going into the second half. Army got better from there with 50 more points but still lost 93-86. Jalen Rucker posted 23 points and Coleton Benson added 22 points with four rebounds.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’m going to stick with Army. That said I’m probably staying away; there’s not a ton of intrigue involved in this matchup since both teams are struggling. Army has been scoring reasonably well over their last six games with 66 or more points in five of those (a 3-3 stretch). The last time these teams met up on January 2 at Kirby Sports Center, the Knights posted a comfortable 82-65 road win thanks to a 54-36 first half. This one will probably be a little closer but I still like Army on the cover.