La Salle vs St Joe’s Picks and Odds (Jan. 17)

• The St Joe’s Hawks are 7.5-point home favorites over the LaSalle Explorers in an NCAA men’s basketball game scheduled for Monday, January 17
• St Joe’s won two of three meetings with LaSalle last season
• The Hawks are 6-1 SU in their last seven home games against the Explorers

Carrying on a tradition that began last season, the second annual meeting of the LaSalle Explorers and St Joe’s Hawks on Martin Luther King Day will take place on Monday.

The opposing coaches – LaSalle’s Ashley Howard and Billy Lange of St Joe’s – hatched the plan to have these two long-standing Philadelphia-based rivals clash on the holiday each year.

Oddsmakers have set the Hawks as solid 7.5-point home favorites over the Explorers. LaSalle is 1-2 against the spread as a road underdog this season.

LaSalle vs St Joe’s Odds

Odds as of January 16th at FanDuel.

Tipoff for this game at Hagan Arena is 4pm ET. The game is being broadcast by the CBS Sports Network.

This is the third LaSalle game this season with a total 145 points or higher. The over was the winning play in each of the two previous games. As an underdog of 7 or more points this season, LaSalle is 2-3 ATS. This is the first time in six games that the Hawks are a betting favorite. As the -360 pick in the Moneyline, St Joe’s is given an implied probability victory of 78.26. Meanwhile, as +280 underdogs, LaSalle’s IP of winning is 26.32%.

LaSalle-St Joe’s Are Bitter Rivals

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that a rivalry between two Philadelphia schools would feature bitterness. LaSalle and St Joe’s can’t even agree upon when the rivalry started.

The Hawks claim a 72-61 edge in the all-time series, commencing with a 35-29 victory on Feb. 11, 1909. Those 72 wins are the most St Joe’s has earned against any school.

“Our destinies are tied together”
– Martin Luther King, Jr. from Dr. King’s “The Future of Integration” speech at Saint Joseph’s University on 10/26/67.

As we reflect on the legacy of Dr. King, the Hawks share what Martin Luther King, Jr. Day means to them. #THWND | #MLKDay pic.twitter.com/PzegtkPqJy

— SJU Hawks MBB (@SJUHawks_MBB) January 16, 2022

However, the Explorers have done their own research and they beg to differ. LaSalle’s claim is that the rivarly doesn’t get underway until the 1931-32 season, when the Explorers first gained Division 1 status. Naturally, LaSalle opened that season with a 39-20 win over St Joe’s on Feb. 10, 1934. The Explorers insist that the Hawks’ edge over them is only 67-54.

Last season saw the Hawks take two of three games from the Explorers. St Joe’s covered in both wins – once as a 2-point underdog and the second time as the 3-point chalk.

However, it was LaSalle that won the first Martin Luther King Day meeting. The Explorers were 90-83 victors as 2-point home favorites.

Hawks Hall Of Fame

St Joe’s sophomore guard/forward Jordan Hall thrives on playing against the Explorers. He’s averaging 16.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 7.7 assists in three career games vs La Salle.

Catching up on Saint Joseph's Jordan Hall, nation's only player averaging 15-5-5 with 2 3PTM. Surpassed last season's 3PT total last night after hitting three of them vs RI (17, 10, 7 ASTs, 4 STLs). On scouts' radar with Kyle Anderson-like size/slow-mo speed/versatility. pic.twitter.com/gsP2Zdqg8D

— Jonathan Wasserman (@NBADraftWass) January 13, 2022

Those totals are including a triple-double in a 91-82 overtime win on Feb. 20, 2021 at Hagan Arena. This season, Hall is currently averaging 15.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game in Atlantic 10 Conference play. Overall, his 6.5 apg in all contests rank Hall seventh in the nation.

Both Teams Seeking Bounce Back Win

LaSalle squandered a double-digit lead with 10 minutes to play and lost 80-76 in overtime to St  Bonaventure in the Explorers’ previous game. The Explorers are 0-3 in conference play.

Back home at Hagan Arena on Monday to host La Salle. #THWND pic.twitter.com/XoAj6TV5wK

— SJU Hawks MBB (@SJUHawks_MBB) January 13, 2022

The Hawks were drubbed 75-64 by Rhode Island. After beating Richmond in their A-10 opener, St Joe’s has dropped two conference games in a row.

LaSalle vs St Joseph’s Prediction

LaSalle is 5-8 on the season, while St. Joe’s is 7-7. The Explorers are 1-6 SU in their last seven games at St Joe’s. LaSalle is also 1-4 ATS in the school’s last five A-10 games. The Hawks are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games.

Clifton Moore over the past 3 games is averaging 21.6 pts, 9 rebs, 3.6 blocks and shooting 66% from the field. Those are insanely good numbers.

— Tom Gola 2.0 (@TG2point0) January 12, 2022

Explorers redshirt junior center/forward Clifton Moore has recorded back-to-back double-doubles. He leads the A-10 in scoring (21.3) and is third in rebounding (10.0) and is 20th in the nation in blocks with 2.83 per game. Hawks graduate student center/forward Ejike Obinna is 14th in the NCAA in field-goal percentage (61.5).

The Hawks are among the premier rebounding teams in the nation. St Joe’s ranks 19th in defensive rebounds per game (28.86) and 51st in total rebounds (39.29). However, the Hawks rank last in the Atlantic 10 Conference in turnover margin (-4.0).

Pick: St Joe’s Hawks -7.5 (-114).