The Marshall Thundering Herd (23-6, 12-4 Sun Belt) and James Madison Dukes (20-9, 11-5) meet Wednesday at Atlantic Union Bank Center in Harrisonburg, Va. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Marshall vs. James Madison game odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
The Thundering Herd fell 72-66 at home on New Year’s Eve in the first-ever Sun Belt Conference matchup between these teams in Huntington. The Dukes picked up the win as 4.5-point road favorites as the Under (160) cashed. JMU has won 4 in a row in the series since Dec. 22, 2010, while covering 5 straight meetings.
Marshall enters on a 4-game win streak, going 3-1 against the spread (ATS) during the span with 4 consecutive Over results. The Over is 5-2 in the past 7 road games for the Herd, too.
James Madison is on a 3-game win streak and is 6-1 ATS across its last 7 games. The Dukes have covered 10 of the past 11 games against winning teams and is 4-1 ATS in the past 5 outings at home.
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Marshall at James Madison odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:33 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Off the board (OTB)
- Against the spread (ATS): Marshall +1.5 (-115) | James Madison -1.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 156.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Marshall at James Madison picks and predictions
Prediction
James Madison 81, Marshall 77
Moneyline
The moneyline was OTB at the time of publication.
Once it opens, James Madison will be a strong play as a short favorite if you don’t want to fiddle around with the points. However, the better value will be to play the Dukes laying the bucket.
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Against the spread
JAMES MADISON -1.5 (-105) is the play to win by at least a deuce.
The Dukes picked up a 72-66 road win against Marshall back on Dec. 31, and are in the midst of an impressive 6-1 ATS run across their past 7 outings overall. JMU has also performed well against winning teams, going 10-1 ATS in the past 11 games against teams with a record above .500.
Over/Under
OVER 156.5 (-115) is the lean, but go lightly with a half-unit play at most.
The Over is 5-2 in the past 7 games following a cover for James Madison, but the Under is 5-2 in its last 7 at home.
It’s all about the Over lately for Marshall, going 5-2 in the past 7 games on the road and 4-0 in the past 4 games overall.
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