The Saint Joseph's Hawks lost both regular-season meetings with the La Salle Explorers in 2021-22 after posting a victory in the first round of last year's conference tournament. Saint Joseph's (11-18, 5-13) hopes for a similar result when it takes on La Salle (10-18, 5-13) in the opening round of the 2022 Atlantic 10 Conference tournament on Wednesday. The Hawks finished the regular season with a 70-60 triumph against Rhode Island after losing their previous seven contests, while the Explorers are riding a three-game winning streak following an 85-76 victory at Duquesne in their finale.
Tip-off from Capital One Arena in Washington, DC is set for 1 p.m. ET. The Hawks are 2.5-point favorites in the latest Saint Joseph's vs. La Salle odds at Caesars Sportsbook, while the over-under for total points scored is 133. Before making any La Salle vs. Saint Joseph's picks, be sure to check out the college basketball predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of almost $1,600 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Saint Joseph's vs. La Salle, and just revealed its picks and CBB predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the college basketball lines and trends for La Salle vs. Saint Joseph's:
- Saint Joseph's vs. La Salle spread: Hawks -2.5
- Saint Joseph's vs. La Salle over-under: 133 points
- Saint Joseph's vs. La Salle money line: Hawks -140, Explorers +120
- STJ: The Hawks are 8-2 against the spread in their last 10 games against teams with losing records
- LS: The Explorers are 3-11 ATS in their last 14 neutral-site contests as underdogs
Why Saint Joseph's can cover
The Hawks are led offensively by Jordan Hall, who is averaging 14.2 points and 5.8 assists per game. The sophomore guard came off the bench to put on a 15-point performance against the Rams on Saturday and had a strong outing three days earlier in a 49-48 loss at La Salle, registering his eighth double-double with 12 points and a season-high 13 rebounds. Hall scored 11 points versus the Explorers in January and registered 17 in their first-round matchup during last year's conference tournament.
Hall wasn't the only member of the Hawks to post a double-double against La Salle on March 2, as senior forward Ejike Obinna also notched his eighth of 2021-22 with game highs of 14 points and 18 boards. Erik Reynolds II gave a superb effort in the win against Rhode Island, setting a career high with a team-leading 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting. It was the sixth consecutive double-digit outing for the freshman guard, who converted five of his eight 3-point attempts.
Why La Salle can cover
The Explorers are coming off their best offensive effort since Feb. 2, when they scored 87 points in a loss at George Washington. Jack Clark was outstanding against Duquesne, going 13-for-19 from the field - 4-for-6 from beyond the arc - en route to a career-high 30 points. The junior guard, who also pulled down eight rebounds, is averaging 12 points this season and finished with fewer than 20 in each of his previous 13 contests.
La Salle also received a great performance off the bench from Josh Nickelberry, who produced 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting - including 5-of-7 from 3-point range. It was the junior guard's highest output since Dec. 7, when he registered 24 points against Fairleigh Dickinson. Senior forward Clifton Moore leads the Explorers with an average of 13 points and posted 16 in their victory over Saint Joseph's in January.
How to make Saint Joseph's vs. La Salle picks
SportsLine's model is leaning over on the point total, suggesting the teams combine for a total of 139 points. It also says one side of the spread hits well over 50 percent of the time. You can only get the model's La Salle vs. St. Joseph's pick at SportsLine.
So who wins La Salle vs. Saint Joseph's? And which side of the spread hits well over 50 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Saint Joseph's vs. La Salle spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up almost $1,600 on its top-rated college basketball spread picks over the last five-plus years, and find out.
