The No. 9 seed Rider Broncs (14-18) meet the No. 4 seed Monmouth Hawks (20-12) Friday in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal. Tip-off at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. is slated for 6 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Rider vs. Monmouth odds and lines, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Rider has shown some late life, beating Monmouth 74-65 in a regular-season finale Saturday, followed by two MAAC tournament wins over Manhattan (79-67 Tuesday) and Iona (71-70 Wednesday). G Dwight Murray Jr. hit the game-winner with 7.3 seconds left to upset top-seeded Iona in the quarterfinals. Rider now faces a Monmouth squad, which it split with during the regular season. The Hawks won the first meeting at home 60-58 Feb. 18.
Monmouth outlasted Niagara 61-58 in a Thursday quarterfinal – as the No. 4 seed, the Hawks had a bye and did not have to play in the opening round. With a strong defense, the Hawks have held foes under 60 points in three of their last four victories. Monmouth’s 20 wins are the most for the program since 2017 when current head coach King Rice led them to 27 wins.
Monmouth was 11-9 in conference play, while Rider finished 8-12 before the MAAC Tournament.
See also: Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports
Rider vs. Monmouth odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 2:36 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Rider +145 (bet $100 to win $145) | Monmouth -180 (bet $180 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Rider +3.5 (-108) | Monmouth -3.5 (-112)
- Over/Under (O/U): 133.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
[tipico]
Rider vs. Monmouth odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Monmouth 71, Rider 63
Money line
PASS. Monmouth (-180) will avenge Saturday’s loss to Rider, but the price is a bit steep.
Plus, the Hawks went 10-for-20 from the free-throw line, while the Broncs went 20-for-25. Monmouth is usually the team with a substantial edge in free-throw frequency, so peg this as an area to flip.
Against the spread
BACK MONMOUTH -3.5 (-112).
The Hawks will play for the second night in a row, but the Broncs will play their third game in four days. Both teams have short rotations, so give the fatigue edge to the Hawks.
The Hawks also have an edge in field-goal shooting and in quality-shot denial. Throw in an expected edge in charity tosses, and this one gets into three-possession territory.
Over/Under
PASS on a well-made total.
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