1-21 Marist Red Foxes +14½ to hang with Manhattan Jaspers

Now we realize that the Marist Red Foxes have the worst record of any lined team in the country at 1-21, but remember that their lone win came vs. these Manhattan Jaspers, and even with revenge in mind, we are not convinced Manhattan us good enough to be favored by this much over anyone.

After all, the Jaspers are just 7-15 straight up themselves, and they are under .500 at home at 4-5. They enter this contest on a seven-game losing streak of their own and they are 2-12 in their last 14 games. This does not sound like a team that deserves to be favored by the mid double-digits over anyone, and if Manhattan was bad enough to lose to this Marist team on the road, do they really have the physical ability to blow them out in the rematch?

This seems unlikely to us, especially considering that the Jaspers have not enjoyed much of a home court advantage this year. Besides, according to the Pomeroy Ratings, Manhattan has an adjusted offensive efficiency rating of .953 points per possession, which ranks 253 out of 347 teams. Marist ranks 298 with a PPP of .908, but is that really enough of a disparity to justify this big spread?

Finally, the struggles of the Red Foxes are so well known that nobody wants to bet this team on the road. Well, the bookmakers are keenly aware of this and have inflated lines against Marist on the road this season. As a result, believe it or not, Marist is 5-1 against the spread in their lined road games.

This seems like a case of the books inflating the line more than usual given the opponent, perhaps because this game will be nationally televised on ESPNU, meaning that the books are expecting heavy action from those anxious to fade Marist with the ability to watch the game on TV.

We, on the other hand, will take the extra value points in this spot, as we do not see Manhattan winning by more than 10 points.

Free Pick: Marist +14½ (-110)