Recent Play Details

Towson (12PM ET Flo Sports) – A very nice 2-0 Sunday to close out the week as Fairfield and the Ravens both get it done and we are finally starting to drum up some momentum on the CBB hardwood.  Three of the past four days have been winning CBB days, we have hit three of our last four and we go for a Martin Luther King Day matinee winner on Monday with CAA action between the Towson Tigers and Hofstra Pride at the SECU Arena in Towson, Maryland.

The “1” in that 3-1 run the past two days was a play against Towson where the Tigers blew out Monmouth and covered by a basket.  Monmouth had a look to push that bet but I have to admit I was impressed with how well Towson played in a spot where the Tigers could have just as easily went into cruise control and still got their win.  It makes me think Towson might trend toward becoming the team many expected they would be this season, the favorite to win the Colonial Athletic Association.  This is a Towson team that returned basically everyone from a team that went 25-9 overall and 15-3 in the CAA last season.  Towson has a terrific coach in Pat Skerry and as good of a trio as you will find in this league in Nicolas Timberlake, Cam Holden and Charles Thompson so 11-7 overall and 3-2 in league play would actually be considered a disappointment for the Tigers to this point.  The good news for Towson is they aren’t in line for an “at-large” so the only thing the Tigers are going to be judged on is success in conference play.  With Charleston rolling the way they are right now Towson has no room for error, the Tigers have won three of their past four games and I think they grab another win at home here.

Aside from Towson getting off to a slow start the rest of the CAA has played out as expected with Charleston and Hofstra at the top.  Hofstra is a solid team, the Pride have arguably the best player in the CAA in Aaron Estrada who enters play averaging 20.9 points per game but Hofstra has played a very easy CAA schedule to this point and I think a Noon ET tip on the road against an underrated Towson team puts the Pride in a tough spot here.  Towson has a big rebounding edge here and Hofstra does give up points on the interior so the Tigers should have an easier time scoring than the Pride in this matchup. Hofstra is a streaky shooting team, and Estrada can score against anyone, but I have a feeling Hofstra is going to be firing from the perimeter frequently here and it’s a lot tougher to win that way on the road.  Six of Hofstra’s seven losses have come away from home this season and this will be BY FAR the toughest game the Pride have had to this point in CAA play.  I don’t think the Noon ET tip does them any favors here and just another reason I like Towson to get it done in this game.

Hofstra played a tough non-conference schedule, but the Pride have lucked out to this point essentially playing the bottom of the CAA.  Hofstra blew out Delaware over the weekend but the Hens were without Jameer Nelson Jr. so I’d go as far as to say Hofstra not being 6-0 in conference to this point (they lost to NC A&T as a double digit favorite) is actually a disappointment.  Towson lost to Delaware without Nelson but that was a road game and the Tigers only other non-conference loss to this point is Charleston who is undefeated in CAA play and currently nationally ranked.  I still think it’s very possible Towson emerges as a legitimate threat in this league, the Tigers are running out of time to make a statement but this is the perfect spot and I think they get it done today.  Play on Towson -130 for 4% (or 4 units)