Bucknell vs Army Predictions & Odds (Jan. 18)

• Army and Bucknell meet in a Patriot League game on Tuesday, January 18.
• Army is a 5.5-point home favorite against the Bison at West Point.
• Read below for Bucknell vs Army odds, analysis and prediction

Army (11-8, 5-1 Patriot) is a 5.5-point home favorite over Bucknell in a Patriot League game at 6 pm ET Tuesday on ESPN+ at Christl Arena. The Black Knights have won and covered six of their last seven games.

Bucknell (7-12, 0-6 Patriot) has lost eight games in a row and is on pace for its fourth straight losing season. The Bison are 1-8 on the road and their best victory is against Niagara, which is No. 242 in the NCAA Net Rankings.

Bucknell vs Army Odds

Odds from FanDuel on Jan. 17. Claim the current FanDuel promos. 

Army is a 5.5-point home favorite over Bucknell in a series that has taken a recent turn. The Black Knights are 3-0 SU and ATS since their second meeting in 2020, a 68-59 home victory. Army also has covered the last six meetings, including the last three during Bucknell’s 12-game hitting streak in the home-and-home series since 2014-15 season.

The Black Nights are 9-8 ATS this season, 3-3 at home. Bucknell is 6-11-1 ATS, 3-5-1 on the road. The total has gone under in 10 of the Bison’s 18 games, including five of the last six.

Army Marches On

The Black Knights are powered by junior scoring guard 5’10 Jalen Rucker, who is averaging 16.6 points per game this season, as number that shoots up to a Patriot League-high 21.0 in conference play. Rucker, the two-time defending league player of the week, is on a career-best run since the calendar turned. He had a career-high 35 points in a 78-55 victory over Loyola Maryland on Jan. 5. against and is shooting 66.7 percent (44 of 66) from the field and 72.0 percent (18 of 25) from distance in the last five games.

Get ready for tonight's 𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐄 game vs. @ColgateMBB on @CBSSportsNet by watching highlights from Jalen Rucker's 35-point explosion in our win last Thursday night!#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/sS24kDjRID

— Army Men's Basketball (@ArmyWP_MBB) January 9, 2023

Rucker enters after a 29-point, five-assist, four-trey game in an 83-74 victory at Boston U. on Saturday. Rucker, who has 39 three-pointers, is not the only contributor. Four other Black Knights are averaging at least 9/8 points per game, including guard Coleton Benson  (11.5 points, 41 threes) and forward Ethan Roberts (11.5 points, 35 threes). Army is ninth in Division I with a 49.8 field goal percentage and because of its success from distance is seventh with an 57.5 effective field goal percentage,

The Black Knights have a plus-4.9 rebound margin but turnovers come with their fast pace. They have a minus-2.1 turnover margin.

Bucknell Hits Hard Times

Bucknell was pick to finish eighth in the 10-team league in the preseason poll as recent performance caught up to a long history of program success. The Bison are on pace for their fourth straight losing season after averaging 22 wins per year in the previous nine. Guard 6’3 Xander Rice led a group of four returning starters into the season but the Bison have not found a fit after losing top scorer and all-Patriot League guard Andrew Funk, who transferred to Penn State for his final season.

Xander is heating up! He now has 11 after this deep three and the Bison are back within 3. #rayBucknell

Watch here: https://t.co/yCqI8GWVIg@PatriotLeagueTV | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/qEO86or0ab

— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) January 12, 2023

Rice leads the team in scoring (15.4 points) and assists (3.8), while big men 6’9 Alex Timmerman and 7’0 Andre Screen are 2-3 in scoring and 1-2 in rebounding. Bucknell’s height has led to a plus-3.6 rebound margin, but it also leads to a slower pace in a league that is more three-conscious than ever. The league leads Division I three-point shooting percentage, and Rice (42 threes) is the Bison’s only reliable three-point threat.

Bucknell vs Army Prediction

Rucker is on a roll, the Black Knights are picking up steam and Bucknell is going in the opposite direction. Still …  the Bison come in after one of their most competitive games of the league season, a six-point loss at No. 1 Colgate, and five of their last six losses have come by eight points or less. Army has not covered in any of the four games it was favored by four points or more. The points are the play.

• Pick: Bucknell +5.5 (-106)
• Season CBK: 21-11 ATS