Manhattan Jaspers vs. Quinnipiac Bobcats Prediction & Game Preview - 2/13/2022

Time: 2 p.m. ET

Venue: People's United Center, Hamden, CT

Where to watch: ESPN 3

DraftKings: Quinnipiac -5

BetMGM: NL

Caesars: NL

Manhattan: 11-11 (4-9 MAAC)

Quinnipiac: 12-10 (7-7 MAAC)

Manhattan: lost four straight

Quinnipiac: lost three of four

We are getting to the point of the college basketball season where we start to figure out who are the haves and the have nots across the country.

End unfortunately if you look at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, there are only a couple of halves and a numerous number of have nots. A case in point is Sunday's matchup between Manhattan and Quinnipiac.

The Jaspers come into this matchup at 4-9 in conference play and have lost four straight to drop their record to .500 at 11-11. Manhattan is coming off a 10 point loss to Monmouth on Friday, but if you're looking for good news in regards to Manhattan, these losses have not been by a ton of points.

Even going back to their nine-point loss to Rider, or seven-point loss to Canisius, the Jaspers have been able to keep these games close. Unfortunately for them, no one is coming close to catching Iona in the MAAC and it would take a Herculean effort for anyone to surpass the Gaels in what’s likely a one-bid conference when it comes to the NCAA Tournament.

The shotmaking has not been the issue for Manhattan during this recent losing streak. But as has been the case all season for the jaspers, defense is where the problem lies. Manhattan averages about 72 points per game on offense this season but is giving up 73. Even though that margin seems very thin, it has been enough of a difference to figure out that Manhattan still has a long way to go before making a serious run at the NCAA tournament.

Going back to their game against Monmouth, it was more of the same. Josh Roberts did finish with a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds, five of them on the offensive glass, but there was no more help given his way. Jose Perez did score 15 points, despite missing 11 shots, and Manhattan shot 41% as a team while missing 17 shots from 3 point range.

In short, they're just not a really good team. And it doesn't even matter if it's on the court, or on the books. Manhattan is 9-11-1 against the spread this season with the over going 14-6-1 in its games. And if you were hoping the Jaspers were a decent enough road team to take a flier on, think again. Manhattan is just 2-8 on the road while going 6-3 at home.

Manhattan has failed to cover in six of its last seven games and has been underdogs in those last seven games. The margins haven't even been as close as I think bettors would like when it comes to this team. It's not like the spread is enormous, but if you're getting four points and still finding ways to lose by 10 or 11, you're not really a team that should be trusted when it comes to putting money on.

And quite honestly, the same can be said for Quinnipiac. The Bobcats 2 have failed to cover in 12 of their 21 games this season, unfortunately for them, they are at home for this game. Quinnipiac has won eight of its 12 at home but is coming off a rare road victory on Wednesday, a nine-point triumph over Fairfield.

That triumph ended a 3-game losing streak for the Bobcats, led by a game-high 23 points from Matt Balanc -- the guard went 7 of 9 from the floor and went 9 of 13 from the free-throw line in what was an otherwise solid performance shooting wise. Dezi Jones added 15 points on 15 shots, while Tymu Chenery had 12 points, as well.

Quinnipiac has also struggled in terms of the books, but not as much as Manhattan has over the last five games. Quinnipiac does have covers over Fairfield as five-point underdogs, as well as an outright win over Marist on January 28th when the Bobcats we're getting 1 1/2 points.

But much like Manhattan, Quinnipiac finds itself in the territory of not bad, but not good, either. The Bobcats have split their 14 conference games and find themselves 4 1/2 games back of Iona for the top spot in the conference. It's safe to say no one is catching Rick Pitino’s team at this point, but what will be imperative is to see how these teams match up when it comes to conference tournament time and if they can pull off an upset or two. That's where Quinnipiac is in the middle of the pack at this moment.

At the time of publishing the line has not come out yet for this game at most books, but I would highly suspect Quinnipiac to at least be favored by five points. If it's around that margin I would highly suggest taking the home team as the favorite and laying the points and accepting the fact that Manhattan has a long way to go. Quinnipiac by 10

Manhattan is 16-31 against the spread following consecutive conference games the past three seasons.

The under is 43-24 when Manhattan loses six or seven of its last eight.

Quinnipiac is 20-15 ATS at home the past three seasons.

Quinnipiac is 9-1 ATS after playing three straight as an underdog.

PG: Ant Nelson

SG: Elijah Buchanan

SF: Jose Perez

PF: Samba Diallo

C: Josh Roberts

PG: Dezi Jones

SG: Matt Balanc

SF: Jacob Rigoni

PF: Tymu Chenery

C: Kevin Marfo

Points: Jose Perez -- 19.1

Rebounds: Josh Roberts -- 6.0

Assists: Jose Perez -- 4.5

Points: Matt Balanc -- 14.9

Rebounds: Kevin Marfo -- 10.6

Assists: Savion Lewis -- 4.1