Check out our free North Carolina Central vs Howard pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Washington. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.

North Carolina Central vs Howard Pick & Preview: Saturday, January 28th Betting Odds

Eagles vs Bison Matchup at a Glance

  • Sport: NCAAB
  • Teams: North Carolina Central Eagles at Howard Bison
  • Where: Washington at Burr Gymnasium
  • Date: Saturday, January 28th
  • Betting Odds: North Carolina Central +2.5, NCC +120 | HOWRD -148 O/U 141.5

Eagles Preview:

North Carolina Central heads into this matchup having played 19 games and have an overall record sitting at 10-9. So far, the Eagles have played 9 games on the road, with a record of 1-8. For the season, North Carolina Central has been the underdog in 10 games, sitting with a mark of 2-8. Currently, the oddsmakers have the lines set with the Eagles being +2.5 point underdogs.

North Carolina Central’s leading scorer this season is Justin Wright, who is averaging 15.53 points per contest. So far, Wright has accounted for 19.93% of the team’s scoring. In addition, he is contributing 4.21 rebounds per game and 2.26 assists. Brendan Medley-Bacon is the second leading scorer for the Eagles, averaging 11.05 points per game. Between him and Medley-Bacon, they are accounting for 34.1% of the team’s scoring.

Offensive production has been hard to come by for North Carolina Central this season, as they are currently ranked 155th in college basketball at 72.8 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 Eagles’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 33.5%, placing them 284th in the NCAA.

Bison Preview:

Howard heads into this matchup having played 22 games and have an overall record sitting at 12-10. Currently, the Bison have been the home team 10 times, sitting with a record of 8-2. The Bison’s are sitting with a betting line that is -2.5 points in their favor. For the season, Howard has been favored to win in 5 games, sitting with a mark of 4-1.

Steve Settle III comes into today’s game as the Bison’s leading scorer at 11.45 points per contest. Not only has III been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is Howard’s top rebounder at 5.73 boards per contest. Behind III, the team has benefited from the strong play of Elijah Hawkins, who is second on the team in scoring at 12.89 points per game. Overall, he has hit 44.9% of his shots and is adding 3.78 boards per game.

So far this season, Howard has put together a strong scoring offense at 76.4 points per game (59th). This strong figure has come despite the Bison playing at a slow tempo compared to other schools. For the season, they have hit 35.7% of their shots from outside, which is closer to the NCAA average. Howard’s overall field goal percentage currently sits at 43.9%

Free Spread Prediction: Howard Bison -2.5

Heading into this matchup, our NCAA betting model has identified this game as a profitable opportunity and recommends taking the Howard Bison to pick up the win and cover the spread as -2.5 point betting favorites. Although Howard as a team is just 231st in overall shooting percentage, we see their offense putting together a strong performance against the Eagles’ defense. In addition, the Bison have made bettors money who have taken them to cover at home, as they are 6-4 (last 10). At -2.5 we see there being plenty of value in grabbing the Bison to come out on top and cover.