Who's Playing

La Salle @ Howard

Current Records: La Salle 5-7; Howard 7-8

What to Know

The Howard Bison will stay at home another game and welcome the La Salle Explorers at 2 p.m. ET Dec. 29 at Burr Arena. The Bison will be strutting in after a victory while La Salle will be stumbling in from a defeat.

Howard escaped with a win last Wednesday against the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers by the margin of a single free throw, 63-62.

Meanwhile, it looks like the Explorers must have gotten on Santa's naughty list since the squad didn't end up with the win they were expected to receive last week. They got maybe a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting the Lafayette Leopards an easy 90-65 win. Guard Khalil Brantley (14 points) was the top scorer for La Salle.

Barring any buzzer beaters, Howard is expected to win a tight contest Thursday. But bettors beware: they are 0-2 against the spread when favored.

Howard's victory brought them up to 7-8 while the Explorers' loss pulled them down to 5-7. A pair of numbers to keep in mind before tip-off: The Bison have allowed their opponents to shoot 45.20% from the floor on average, which is the 53rd highest shooting percentage allowed in college basketball. La Salle has experienced some struggles of their own as they have only been able to knock down 40.70% percent of their shots, which is the 18th lowest field goal percentage in college basketball. It's possible one of these Achilles' heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.

How To Watch

  • When: Thursday at 2 p.m. ET
  • Where: Burr Arena -- Washington, District of Columbia
  • Follow: CBS Sports App

Odds

The Bison are a slight 1.5-point favorite against the Explorers, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 1.5-point spread, and stayed right there.

Over/Under: -111

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Series History

This is the first time these teams have played each other within the last seven years.