Binghamton Bearcats vs Duquesne Dukes Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 2

Duquesne is unbeaten at home, but Binghamton brings a guard scoring 17.2 a game and a rebounder pulling down 15.5 a night into a 16.5-point spread.

The Matchup

Binghamton visits Duquesne on Saturday at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh, on ESPN+, with Duquesne favored by 16.5 points, a total of 145.5, and the Dukes priced at -1,450 on the moneyline. Duquesne is 3-0 at home, and Binghamton is 3-1 with a guard playing like a star and a rebounding number that does not belong to a team getting this many points.

Duquesne scores 72.7 points a game and allows 66.7, winning with defense and patience rather than fireworks. Yoav Berman leads the Dukes at 15.3 points a game, and Kerem Konan leads them at 7.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists a game. The Dukes shoot 49 percent from the field but just 26 percent from three, a profile that builds leads slowly. Berman and Konan carry no injury designations.

Binghamton scores 70.0 points a game and allows 66.5, nearly identical defensive numbers to the favorite's. Jeremiah Quigley leads the Bearcats at 17.2 points and 6.0 assists a game, and Demetrius Lilley leads them at 15.5 rebounds a game, a staggering number and the best rebounding figure in this game by more than double.

Quigley and Lilley carry no injury designations. The caveat is Binghamton's recent history: the Bearcats won 8 games last season while allowing 74.9 a game, so this season's defensive competence is four games old, while Duquesne won 18 games last season and its defense, 75.2 allowed a year ago improving to 66.7, is the more believable trend of the two.

Key Factors

Lilley is the reason this spread is hard to cover. A rebounder pulling down 15.5 a game ends Duquesne possessions early and starts Binghamton's with Quigley pushing at 6.0 assists a game, and a favorite that cannot extend possessions cannot build the sustained margin 16.5 requires. Konan at 7.3 rebounds a game is a good player having his matchup doubled.

Duquesne's shooting limits its own ceiling. At 26 percent from three, the Dukes do not have the quick strike scoring that turns a ten point game into a twenty point game in three minutes, and Binghamton's defense at 66.5 allowed plays the same slow game. This has the shape of a grind the home team wins possession by possession, which is exactly the shape that protects a big underdog.

The honest counterpoint is that Binghamton's start may be a schedule story, and Duquesne at home has handled its business without drama. If Quigley gets into foul trouble against the Dukes' physical guards, the Bearcats' offense at 70.0 a game has no second creator, and a patient home team up double digits at halftime can squeeze the life out of the final twenty minutes.

Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.