Howard Bison vs Alcorn State Braves Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 1
Howard won 24 games last season and opened with a competitive loss at a strong Ivy League team. Alcorn State allowed 99 points in its opener, and now it has to slow down a deeper, more active backcourt at home.
The Matchup
Howard visits Alcorn State on Thursday evening at the Davey L. Whitney Complex in Lorman, with Howard an 8.5-point road favorite and a total of 149.5. Both teams are 0-1, and both lost on the road to better teams on Monday. The quality of those losses is not close.
Howard finished 24-11 last season, scoring 77.8 points a game and allowing 69.1, a team that won with defense and depth. Alcorn State finished 9-23, scoring 66.9 and allowing 80.2, a team that could do neither for long. The openers kept the same shape: Howard lost 72-62 at Yale, a competitive game against a strong home team, while Alcorn State lost 99-58 at Ole Miss and gave up 99 points doing it.
A road favorite in a small gym is never a comfortable ticket. What makes Howard different from most teams laying points in this spot is that its identity travels: pressure on the ball, rim protection, and enough scoring balance that one cold shooter does not sink the night.
Key Factors
Howard's backcourt activity is the argument. Cam Gillus played 38 minutes at Yale and scored 16 points, going 4-of-6 from three with 4 steals, the kind of two-way game that wears a home team down. James Brown gave the Bison a second kind of problem for Alcorn State: 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks and 4 steals, protecting the rim and disrupting passing lanes in the same possessions. Drew Harris added 8 points and 7 rebounds off the bench, so the pressure does not drop when the starters sit.
Alcorn State's defense has to answer for 80.2 points allowed a game last season and 99 allowed on Monday, and its offense does not score enough to trade its way out of trouble. Bobby Cannon was the Braves' best scorer at Ole Miss with 14 points, and after him the production thinned quickly. A home team that cannot score in bunches has to win this game with stops, and stops are the one thing Alcorn State has not produced against anyone lately.
The counterpoint is Howard's own shooting, which was poor at Yale and cannot be waved away. Alex Cotton went 2-of-11 and Josiah Lawson went 2-of-10, and if those shots look the same in Lorman, a road favorite can spend the whole night stuck in a one-possession game with a loud home crowd.
This is also Alcorn State's home opener, the one night its building is at its best. The bet is that Howard's defense creates enough turnovers and second chances to cover for a cold shooting night, and that Alcorn State's defense gives those points back with interest.
Alcorn State gives up points too easily to guard a backcourt this active for a full night, and Howard defends the rim in a way Alcorn State simply does not. Road favorites are never simple, but the gap between these defenses is real. Lay the points with Howard Bison -8.5 at -112.
Game Information
| Date | Thursday (11/5) |
|---|---|
| Start Time | 6:00 PM CT |
| Venue | Davey L. Whitney Complex, Lorman |
| Spread | Howard Bison -8.5 |
| Total | 149.5 |
| Moneyline | Howard Bison -360 |
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