by Chuck Sommers
Monday, Jan 03, 2022
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Venue: Daskalakis Athletic Center, Philadelphia, PA
Where to watch: N/A
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Towson -1; O/U 140.5
BetMGM: Towson -1.5; O/U 140.5
Caesars: Towson -1; O/U 140.5
Season record
Towson: 9-4
Drexel: 5-5
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Towson - Drexel preview and analysis
Recent form
Towson: won three straight; won 69-52 at Navy on Dec. 22
Drexel: won 76-69 vs. Coppin State on Dec. 14
It's the Colonial Athletic Association opener for the Towson Tigers and Drexel Dragons on Monday in Philadelphia, and both teams will surely be coming in well-rested.
You have to go back to mid/late December to find the last times Towson and Drexel faced each other; the CAA has had to deal with numerous COVID cases throughout the association and now are ready to resume play.
Towson appears one of the top teams heading into conference play after starting 9-4. That includes an impressive 17-point win against the Navy Midshipmen.
Towson had an impressive run in non-conference play, even in defeat. On Dec. 8, the Tigers gave the soon-to-be top-10 Ohio State Buckeyes a run on the road, losing by only 11 points. Since then, Towson has reeled off three straight wins.
Nicolas Timberlake had a game-high 24 points on not just 9 of 12 shooting, but he also nailed 5 of his 6 3-point attempts. Charles Thompson was the only other player to score in double figures with 10 points, but that's all Towson needed to improve to 4-2 on the road.
Timberlake is their leading scorer at 14.5 points per game to go along with 43.6% shooting. Clearly, Towson has shown to get balanced scoring across the lineup; four players average double figures and they're all guards. Cameron Holden averages 13.8 points while grabbing a team-best 9.5 rebounds per game.
To see how tough Towson has played, it's shocking to see the Tigers lay only one point in this matchup. Perhaps the long hiatus has something to do with it, but Drexel isn't anywhere near the top of this conference, at least not in its current state.
The Dragons have lost three of five but their last game, back on Dec. 14, was a 7-point win over Coppin State that offset losses to Abilene Christian and Princeton. You look at the numbers against Coppin State and it doesn't make sense how they won this game.
Drexel shot 40% and got a 4 of 12 performance from leading scorer and rebounder James Butler (finishing with 11 points and 11 rebounds). Even guard Camren Wynter went 5 of 18 and just went 1 of 8 from 3-point range. It helped to have two more players score in double figures outside of Coppin State; Lamar Oden Jr. finished with 15 points, and Amari Williams had 12 points in 13 minutes off the bench.
Butler leads the Dragons at 14.5 points and 10.3 rebounds; he also shoots a team-best 59.1 percent. If he's not making shots, it's hard for the rest of his teammates to answer for themselves. He needs to have a big game for Drexel to have a chance.
It's the Colonial Athletic Association opener for the Towson Tigers and Drexel Dragons on Monday in Philadelphia, and both teams will surely be coming in well-rested.
You have to go back to mid/late December to find the last times Towson and Drexel faced each other; the CAA has had to deal with numerous COVID cases throughout the association and now are ready to resume play.
Towson appears one of the top teams heading into conference play after starting 9-4. That includes an impressive 17-point win against the Navy Midshipmen.
Towson had an impressive run in non-conference play, even in defeat. On Dec. 8, the Tigers gave the soon-to-be top-10 Ohio State Buckeyes a run on the road, losing by only 11 points. Since then, Towson has reeled off three straight wins.
Nicolas Timberlake had a game-high 24 points on not just 9 of 12 shooting, but he also nailed 5 of his 6 3-point attempts. Charles Thompson was the only other player to score in double figures with 10 points, but that's all Towson needed to improve to 4-2 on the road.
Timberlake is their leading scorer at 14.5 points per game to go along with 43.6% shooting. Clearly, Towson has shown to get balanced scoring across the lineup; four players average double figures and they're all guards. Cameron Holden averages 13.8 points while grabbing a team-best 9.5 rebounds per game.
To see how tough Towson has played, it's shocking to see the Tigers lay only one point in this matchup. Perhaps the long hiatus has something to do with it, but Drexel isn't anywhere near the top of this conference, at least not in its current state.
The Dragons have lost three of five but their last game, back on Dec. 14, was a 7-point win over Coppin State that offset losses to Abilene Christian and Princeton. You look at the numbers against Coppin State and it doesn't make sense how they won this game.
Drexel shot 40% and got a 4 of 12 performance from leading scorer and rebounder James Butler (finishing with 11 points and 11 rebounds). Even guard Camren Wynter went 5 of 18 and just went 1 of 8 from 3-point range. It helped to have two more players score in double figures outside of Coppin State; Lamar Oden Jr. finished with 15 points, and Amari Williams had 12 points in 13 minutes off the bench.
Butler leads the Dragons at 14.5 points and 10.3 rebounds; he also shoots a team-best 59.1 percent. If he's not making shots, it's hard for the rest of his teammates to answer for themselves. He needs to have a big game for Drexel to have a chance.
Prediction
It helps to be at home for Drexel, but I can't see teams having ease of taking down Towson too often this season. The conference has seemed to already establish who is the best of the best, and the Tigers are going to be a tough out throughout conference play. Towson by 10
Betting trends
The home team is 5-1 ATS in the last six meetings.
Towson is 7-0 ATS in its last seven road games.
Towson is 10-1 ATS in its last 11 overall.
Drexel is 3-12-1 ATS in its last 16 games on Monday.
Projected starting lineup
Towson:
PG: Antonio Rizzuto
SG: Terry Nolan Jr.
SF: Cam Holden
PF: Nicolas Timberlake
C: Charles Thompson
SF: Cam Holden
PF: Nicolas Timberlake
C: Charles Thompson
Drexel:
PG: Camren Wynter
SG: Xavier Bell
SF: Mate Okros
PF: Melik Martin
C: James Butler
SF: Mate Okros
PF: Melik Martin
C: James Butler
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
