Canisius vs Saint Peter’s Odds and Pick (Jan. 18)

• Saint Peter’s is a 8.5-point home favorite over Canisius on Tuesday
• Saint Peter’s is 2-0 since a 26-day pause because of COVID-19 issues
• A look at the odds and matchup can be found below with a prediction

Saint Peter’s will try to continue the momentum gained since a long break when it hosts Canisius at 2:00 p.m. ET Tuesday in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game at the Yanitelli Center in Jersey City, N.J.

Saint Peter’s (5-6 overall/3-1 MAAC/3-2 home) has won back-to-back games following a 26-day pause because of COVID-19 issues. The Peacocks notched a 58-51 victory at Rider on Sunday.

Canisius (5-11 overall/1-4 MAAC/0-8 road) has lost consecutive games following a three-game winning streak, including dropping an 80-75 decision at Manhattan on Sunday.

Saint Peter’s is the favorite in a game that will be shown on ESPN+.

Canisius vs Saint Peter’s Odds

Odds as of January 17th at FanDuel.

An 8.5-point favorite, Saint Peter’s is also -410 on the moneyline and that gives the Peacocks an implied win probability of 80.39%.

While Saint Peter’s is the second-highest-rated MAAC team at KenPom, the only team from the conference that is currently factoring into the 2022 NCAA Tournament odds is Rick Pitino’s Iona Gaels.

Canisius Betting Outlook

Poor defense did Canisius in at Manhattan as the Jaspers shot a smoking 63.0% (29 of 46) from the floor. Surprisingly, Manhattan was just 2 of 7 (28.6%) on three-pointers but made 69.2% (27 of 39) of their shots from inside the arc.

Senior guard Ahamadou Fofana continued a personal hot streak for Canisius. He scored 15 points, grabbed five rebounds, and dished three assists.

AHAMADOU FOFANA CALLED GAME @Griffs_MBB hangs to beat @UBmenshoops 65-64 ❄️🏀 pic.twitter.com/HXa8i2Ky1a

— Griffin Della Penna (@GriffinDP_) December 19, 2021

It marked Fofana’s fifth consecutive game scoring in double figures.

Junior guard Akrum Ahemed added 13 points. That came after he scored just 12 points combined in the previous three games.

Canisius’ leading scorer, senior forward Malek Green, seemed to get back on track with a 12-point effort. He had been held to two points in back-to-back games prior to Sunday.

Green is averaging 13.9 points and 6.2 rebounds.

Made his mark ✅

Congratulations to @Griffs_MBB's Malek Green, your Men's #MAACHoops Sixth Player of the Year 👏👏👏#maAChoops21 pic.twitter.com/jyYPXG1YHh

— #MAACHoops (@MAACHoops) March 10, 2021

Canisius has not been a very profitable team this season for the NCAA basketball betting community. The Golden Griffins are just 5-10 against the spread, including 2-6 in road games.

Saint Peter’s Betting Outlook

Defense is Saint Peter’s strong suit, compensating for a struggling offense. The Peacocks are 77^th in the nation in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency with 98.0 points allowed per 100 possessions but 314^th in adjusted offensive efficiency at 95.3.

Saint Peter’s had just one player score in double figures in the win at Rider. He was junior guard Doug Edert finished with 12 points.

DYK?

SPU has 2️⃣ of the top 3️⃣ free throw shooters in the MAAC

1. Daryl Banks III – 89.3%
3. Doug Edert – 87.5%#StrutUp🦚 pic.twitter.com/wwedxAU4YP

— Saint Peter's Men's Basketball (@PeacocksMBB) January 11, 2022

It was the fourth game in a row in double figures for Edert, who is averaging 10.0 points.

Junior guard Daryl Banks III is Saint Peter’s top scorer with an 11.5 average.

Junior forward Fousseyni Drame chipped in with eight points and 10 rebounds against Rider. It was his third game of the season with double-digit boards.

Drame has season averages of 8.7 points and 7.9 rebounds. He also seems like a fun guy.

Double-double for Fousseyni Drame tonight! 11 points and 12 boards and it's a two-point game with 2:16 left

🦚 60-58 🟧#StrutUp🦚 pic.twitter.com/0oQrpQkXgH

— Saint Peter's Men's Basketball (@PeacocksMBB) December 4, 2021

Unsurprisingly, Saint Peter’s relied on its strong defense as it held Rider 37.0% (20 of 54) from the field and 2 of 11 (18.2%) from three-point range. The Broncs also had 19 turnovers.

Saint Peter’s is 5-5 ATS but just 1-3 in home games.

Canisius vs Saint Peter’s Prediction

With New York online betting finally legal, those in upstate NY should note that Canisius has beaten Saint Peter’s in each of the last two meetings and six of the last seven.

The teams last played on Jan. 2, 2021, with Canisius notching a 63-60 victory at home. The Golden Griffins got 17 points from Fofana and 11 points and five rebounds from Green while Banks had 12 points and six points for Saint Peter’s and Edert added 10 points.

Saint Peter’s has looked strong off its long layoff. However, the Peacocks’ lack of offense makes covering an 8.5-point spread problematic.

The Pick: Canisius +8.5 (-110)