Colgate vs Lafayette Odds & Picks

Nov 14, 2023; Syracuse, New York, USA; Colgate Raiders guard Braeden Smith (2) and forward Jeff Woodward (55) react to a play against the Syracuse Orange during the first half at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY SportsA Patriot League battle between the Colgate Raiders and Lafayette Leopards starts Monday’s college basketball slateColgate and Lafayette are currently first and second, respectively, in the Patriot League standingsSee the Colgate vs Lafayette odds, predictions, and props for Monday’s game in Easton, PA

The 2023-24 season isn’t shaping up to be a banner year for the Patriot League, but the top two teams in the conference will, nonetheless, go head-to-head on Monday night in Easton, Pennsylvania, as the Colgate Raiders (19-8, 7-5 away, 13-1 Patriot, 15-10-1 ATS) visit the Lafayette Leopards (11-16, 5-7 home, 10-4 Patriot, 12-14 ATS) at Kirby Sports Center (6:00 pm ET).

Colgate, which has won the regular-season Patriot League title two straight years and captured three straight conference tournaments, is a sizable road favorite on Monday night. The Raiders can clinch their third straight Patriot League regular-season title with a win.

Colgate vs Lafayette Odds

The Raiders are laying 7.5 points on the road and are listed at a short -360 on the moneyline. The game total is 132.5 with -110 odds both ways in Monday’s college basketball odds.

While the spread is consistently sitting at 7.5 across the board, there is sizable variation in the moneyline odds from sportsbook to sportsbook. While Colgate is -360 at FanDuel, the Raiders are -325 at DraftKings, while Lafayette is +280 at FanDuel and +260 at DK. The lowest game total is at BetMGM (131.5).

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Odds in table above from FanDuel on Feb. 19. Claim a FanDuel promo code before betting on Monday’s college basketball games. 

The college basketball public betting splits show the Raiders getting slightly more ATS mooney (54% of ATS handle as 7.5-point road favorites) and a lot more of the moneyline action (91% of moneyline handle). At the time of publication, no NCAAM player props were available for the game yet.

Colgate Steamrolling Patriot League Competition

Colgate enters Monday with a near-perfect 13-1 record in conference play, including 11 straight wins, which is tied for the nation’s third-longest win streak, trailing only UConn (14) and Saint Mary’s (13). The Raiders had a run of six straight ATS wins broken last time out by the slimmest of margins: Colgate won 62-50 at home against Bucknell as 12.5-point chalk.

Monday’s game will be an opportunity for revenge for the Raiders. Colgate’s only conference loss this season came at the hands of Lafayette (69-64 home) on Jan. 10. Matt Langel’s team had a disastrous first half back in January, allowing the Leopards to open a 14-point lead by the 18-minute mark. Colgate closed the gap to three early in the second half but couldn’t complete the comeback.

Over the past half-decade, Langel’s Colgate teams have won with offense. The Raiders have finished each of the last five seasons 86th or better in offensive efficiency at KenPom. With last year’s standouts Tucker Richardson and  Keegan Records gone, this year has been a much different story; the Raiders are just 183rd in offensive efficiency and don’t have a single player averaging more than 12.7 PPG.

Their defensive efficiency, however, has improved from 233rd last season to 113th this year, and Langel has his team playing at a considerably slower pace (163rd last year vs 247th this year). Colgate has held ten straight opponents to 64 points or fewer.

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Lafayette Lets Potential Conference Title Slip Away

Not only did the Leopards shock the conference with its road win at Colgate in early January as massive 14-point underdogs, they won their first seven Patriot League games and held at least a share of the conference lead until the end of January.  That hot start was all the more surprising in light of the fact that Lafayette lost its first 12 games against DI competition.

An ugly 62-48 home loss to Boston U on Jan. 27 – their first conference loss of the season – sent the Leopards into a slump that allowed Colgate to build a big lead at the top of the standings. Lafayette has won just three of its past seven games, including four losses at home, and is three games back of the Raiders with just four to play.

Like Colgate, this year’s Lafayette group is a defense-first team that plays at a relatively slow pace (298th in tempo). Neither team puts much effort into offensive rebounding (Colgate is 293rd in offensive-rebound percentage while Lafayette is 324th) but that’s a much bigger problem for the Leopards. Colgate is one of the better three-point shooting teams in the country (42nd at 36.8%) whereas Lafayette is one of the worst (292nd at 31.5%).

Colgate vs Lafayette Prediction

It’s been much easier to back Colgate to cover big spreads in previous years compared to the 2023-24 season. The level of offensive firepower Raider faithful have gotten used to just isn’t present this season.

While the Leopards are slumping, they managed to get back in the win column last time out with an impressive 68-62 road win at American as 5.5-point underdogs. Lafayette should also come in confident, already 1-0 against Colgate this season.

Colgate vs Lafayette pick: Lafayette +7.5 (-110)

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Sascha Paruk’s 2023-24 NCAAM betting record:

ATS: 13-13 (-1.21 units)Moneyline: 1-5 (-4.78 units)Player props: 2-2 (+0.78 units)

All wagers one unit unless expressly stated otherwise.