Patriot League Tournament Odds & Predictions (March 3): Holy Cross vs Lafayette Picks, Army vs Bucknell Best Bets

The Patriot League Tournament tips off Tuesday night with two first-round games where the stakes are simple: win or go home. The Lafayette Leopards (11-20, 8-10 Patriot League), the No. 7 seed, host the No. 10 seed Holy Cross Crusaders (10-21, 5-13) at the Kirby Sports Center in Easton, PA. Simultaneously, the No. 8 Bucknell Bison (9-22, 6-12) welcome the No. 9 Army Black Knights (11-20, 5-13) to Sojka Pavilion in Lewisburg, PA.

Both games are set for a 7:00 pm ET start on ESPN+, with the winners advancing to the quarterfinals. The winner of Lafayette/Holy Cross will face No. 2 Lehigh; the winner of Bucknell/Army will meet No. 1 Navy.

With the season on the line, I have set out the odds and my best bet for both games.

Jump to: Holy Cross vs Lafayette || Army vs Bucknell

Holy Cross vs Lafayette Odds

The Holy Cross vs Lafayette point spread ranges from LAF -3.5 to -4.5 with DraftKings offering the best ATS price for Holy Cross bettors and FanDuel for Lafayette bettors. On the moneyline, bet365 has a market-best price of -165 on Lafayette to win straight-up. FanDuel has the longest odds on a Holy Cross upset at +152.

The game total is 141.5 across the board with all books offering -110 odds both ways.

Removing the vig, Lafayette holds a 60.9% implied win probability, leaving Holy Cross with a 39.1% chance of an upset.

Holy Cross vs Lafayette Prediction & Pick

• ATS Pick: Lafayette -3.5 (-110 at FanDuel)
• O/U Pick: Under 141.5 (-110 at bet365)

This handicap centers on dominance in head-to-head matchups. The Leopards swept the season series against the Crusaders, winning 74-55 at home in January and edging them out 86-83 on the road in February.

Lafayette enters the Patriot League Tournament in solid form, as well, having won three of their final four regular-season contests. That includes a 70-69 win at Colgate, a team that sits 71 spots ahead of the Leopards at KenPom (254th vs 325th).

Holy Cross, on the other hand, really struggled down the stretch, losing five of their final six games, the only win coming against a Bucknell team that rates 335th at KenPom.

The data supports the home side here; with a vig-free win probability of nearly 61%, laying the short number is the mathematically sound play. Lafayette’s offense has proven they can cover this margin, particularly at the Kirby Sports Center where they beat Holy Cross by 19 points earlier this year.

I am backing the Leopards to cover the 3.5-point spread and end the Crusaders’ season.

KenPom has this game landing on exactly 141 points (72-69 Lafayette projected score) and I will very happily take the under on 141.5. The defensive intensity is going to ramp up in this win-or-go-home game. Expect it to look a lot more like the slow-pace 74-55 scoreline from their first game in Easton back in January (129 total points), and less like the 86-83 shootout (169 total points) from their rematch in Worcester in February.

Army vs Bucknell Odds

The Army vs Bucknell odds are even tighter than Holy Cross/Lafayette. Bucknell ranges from a 2.5 to 3.5-point home favorite, with DraftKings offering the best ATS price on the home team (-2.5 at -118) and BetMGM on the visitors (+3.5 at -118). On the moneyline, the best price on a Army upset is +134 at FanDuel, while the best price on a Bucknell straight-up win is actually at prediction site Kalshi, where a Bison victory is trading at 60¢, which is the equivalent of a -150 moneyline price in traditional sports-betting terms.

The game total ranges from 145.5 to 146.5. But under bettors who want the benefit of the extra point will have to stomach -120 juice at DraftKings.

After removing the juice, Bucknell possesses a 57.7% true win probability, while Army sits at a 42.3% upset chance.

Bucknell vs Army Picks & Prediction

The Pick: Bucknell Moneyline (60¢ at Kalshi)

Both teams lost seven of their final eight regular-season games. Army’s only win came at Loyola MD (87-77), while Bucknell’s only win came at Army (75-73). The Black Knights did win the first meeting of the season, though, 87-84 OT at Bucknell back in mid-January. Army hasn’t beaten a team rated higher than 296th since early December. Bucknell has a couple higher-quality wins in that span: 103-97 2OT vs Boston U (261st at KenPom) on Jan 31, and 60-59 at American (240th at KenPom) on Feb. 4.

Army’s defensive efficiency has plummeted over the final three weeks of the season. They currently sits 343rd in DRtg at KenPom out of 365 DI teams, making it difficult to trust them on the road in a high-pressure environment. Bucknell has better wins over the last month-plus, and a head-to-head win. Their home-court advantage doesn’t count for much (just 5-8 in Lewisburg this season) but I trust them to see off a dismal Army team on Tuesday night.