Check out our free Iona vs Niagara pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Niagara Falls. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.

Iona vs Niagara Pick & Preview: Sunday, February 12th Betting Odds

Gaels vs Purple Eagles Matchup at a Glance

  • Sport: NCAAB
  • Teams: Iona Gaels at Niagara Purple Eagles
  • Where: Niagara Falls at Gallagher Center
  • Date: Sunday, February 12th
  • Betting Odds: Iona -7.5, IONA -360 | NIAGRA +270 O/U 133.5

Gaels Preview:

Iona will take their 4 game win streak into today’s game. So far, the team has an overall record of 17-7. On the road, the Gaels will be playing their 14th game of the season, having gone 8-6. This season, Iona has been favored to win in 22 games, sitting with a mark of 16-6. For today’s contest, Iona has a betting line set -7.5 points in their favor.

Nelly Junior Joseph comes into today’s game as the Gaels’ leading scorer at 16.09 points per contest. Not only has Joseph been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is Iona’s top rebounder at 9.61 boards per contest. Behind Joseph, the team has benefited from the strong play of Daniss Jenkins, who is second on the team in scoring at 15.33 points per game. Overall, he has hit 41.2% of his shots and is adding 4.54 boards per game.

On offense, Iona is scoring a rate similar to the NCAA average at 75.2 points per game. This figure has come despite struggling to knock down shots from outside. Through 24 games, they have only hit 33.0% of their 3-point field goal attempts. For the season, 31.84% of their shots have come from beyond the arc.

Purple Eagles Preview:

Niagara heads into this matchup having played 23 games and have an overall record sitting at 14-9. Currently, the Purple Eagles have been the home team 11 times, sitting with a record of 9-2. So far, the Purple Eagles have been the underdog 13 times, going 7-6 straight up. Heading into today’s contest, they are the +7.5 underdogs on the spread.

Niagara will be counting on another strong performance from the team’s leading scorer Noah Thomasson who is averaging 18.65 points per game for the Purple Eagles. Thomasson is also important to the team’s ability to score on the perimeter. So far, he leads the team in 3-point shots made. Also key to the Purple Eagles’ offensive game plan is the play of Aaron Gray who has hit 44.1% of his field goal attempts on his way to averaging 12.65 points per game.

Offensive production has been hard to come by for Niagara this season, as they are currently ranked 315th in college basketball at 67.4 points per game. A major reason for low scoring totals is the fact that they have played at a below average pace, and have struggled to knock down outside shots. As a team, the Purple Eagles’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 34.5%, placing them 214th in the NCAA.

Free Spread Prediction: Iona Gaels -7.5

Heading into this matchup, our NCAA betting model has identified this game as a profitable opportunity and recommends taking the Iona Gaels to pick up the win and cover the spread as -7.5 point betting favorites. Although Iona as a team is just 97th in overall shooting percentage, we see their offense putting together a strong performance against the Purple Eagles’ defense. At -7.5 we see there being plenty of value in grabbing the Gaels to come out on top and cover.