Niagara vs Rider Prediction, Odds, Line, Spread, Picks, and Preview - January 20

The Rider Broncs will be hosting the Niagara Purple Eagles on Friday in a MAAC clash. Rider are 7-9, but they have improved their conference record to 4-3 after defeating Iona on Sunday. Niagara just lost 66-64 against Marist, and they're now 9-8. A few weeks ago, Niagara prevailed over Rider at home, 61-59, but since then, they've gone just 1-3. Tonight, we'll see if the visiting Purple Eagles can sweep the season series or if the Broncs can even it up.

Niagara Purple Eagles vs. Rider Broncs Betting Odds

Team	Spread	Total	Money Line
Niagara Purple Eagles	+5.5 (-118)	Over 129.5 (-105)	+180
Rider Broncs	-5.5 (-104)	Under 129.5 (-115)	-220

Odds Courtesy of FanDuelSportsbook

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Niagara Purple Eagles vs. Rider Broncs Match Details

Fixture: Niagara Purple Eagles @ Rider Broncs

Date & Time: Friday, January 20, 7:00 p.m. EDT

Venue: Alumni Gymnasium, Lawrenceville, NJ

Niagara Purple Eagles vs. Rider Broncs Key Stats

Niagara are struggling at the moment, and it's their defense that's been poor lately. In each of their last three losses, they've allowed opponents to shoot 49% or better, and it's really cost them. Overall during the season, the Purple Eagles haven't forced a lot of turnovers, and they forced just seven in Saturday's loss.

On offense, Niagara relies on senior guard Noah Thomasson (18.3 PPG, 3.4 APG) and Aaron Gray (13.1 PPG, 5.0 RPG). Besides these two, the scoring contributions of the Purple Eagles' other players have been inconsistent, and some of this can be attributed to the team's slow pace. Tonight, Niagara will need to buckle down on defense and focus on getting stops if they want to get back in the win column.

Rider have shot a subpar 43.5% from the field and 32.4% from their deep. The good news is that at home, the Broncs shoot way better, up at 48.7%. They also average a solid 10.1 offensive rebounds per game to make up for their inefficiency overall. Guard Dwight Murray Jr. has been great this year, averaging a team-high 17 points per game, while Mervin James leads the team in rebounding (7.0 RPG) and chips in with 12.7 points. Defensively, Rider have held teams to under 40% shooting in home games, and they'll look to keep up the defensive intensity tonight.

Niagara Purple Eagles vs. Rider Broncs Betting Prediction

Both teams are right around .500 against the spread this year, but recently they've both been struggling ATS. Niagara have failed to cover each of their last three, while Rider are just 1-4 ATS in their previous five. Even though the Purple Eagles have lost three in a row, all three of these games have been very competitive and within six points. Tonight, they should turn it around and at least cover, as the underdog has gone 4-1 ATS in the past five head-to-head meetings. Also, Rider has had the under hit in five straight, and Niagara play at a very slow pace, so take the under here.