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The Wagner Seahawks meet the Rutgers Scarlet Knights Wednesday in Piscataway, N.J.. Tip-off at Jersey Mike’s Arena will be 6 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network). Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s college basketball odds around the Wagner vs. Rutgers odds, and make our expert college basketball picks and predictions.
Wagner ended its 2023-24 regular season by losing 4 of its last 5 games, but then the Seahawks swept their way to a Northeast Conference Tournament title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Wagner won a First Four battle in Dayton against Howard and was then ousted in the first round of the tourney by North Carolina to finish with a record of 17-16.
Rutgers opened its 2023-24 season with 8 wins in its first 12 games, and the Scarlet Knights were 14-10 and on a solid roll when the calendar hit mid-February. But RU logged a 1-7 mark after that, including a loss in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, and the Knights finished 15-17.
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Wagner at Rutgers odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list of college basketball odds. Lines last updated Tuesday at 10:38 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Wagner +1600 (bet $100 to win $1,600) | Rutgers -4500 (bet $4,500 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Wagner +19.5 (-102) | Rutgers -19.5 (-120)
- Over/Under (O/U): 129.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Wagner at Rutgers picks and predictions
Prediction
Rutgers 79, Wagner 54
Moneyline
No value here: PASS.
Against the spread
Rutgers is 8-2 ATS over its last 10 home games in November. Last November, the Knights had 3 early home games that would fit as comps with this outside-the-top-200 Seahawks team. Against Boston, Howard and Saint Peter’s, RU averaged a winning margin of 25.0 points.
Coach Steve Pikiell has brought in a highly-touted freshman class and a solid core of transfers. That combined group should provide loads of good guard play, decent 3-point shooting and defense.
Expect Wagner, which ranked 353rd in scoring last year (63.7 points per game), to fall behind early and struggle to produce any significant runs against a much more athletic RU squad.
BACK RUTGERS -19.5 (-120).
Over/Under
With Rutgers playing at home and having some upside to its offensive game, look for the Knights to surprise people in the early weeks of the season.
The Over went 10-22 in RU games last season and 12-19 in Wagner contests. But the new-look Knights bring a different skill set to the table. Much is expected. In this case that includes more pace, more points.
And more value in the OVER 129.5 (-110).
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