Old Dominion Monarchs vs Bucknell Bison Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 1

Old Dominion brings a defense that has allowed very little through two games to Bucknell, whose home opener comes against exactly the wrong kind of visitor.

The Matchup

Old Dominion walks into Sojka Pavilion at 2-0, and the wins have a clear shape. The Monarchs have scored 76.0 points per game this season and allowed only 48.0 across the full set of their first two games, both at home in Chartway Arena. The win that matters is the one over Western Michigan, where Zacch Wiggins carried the offense with 25 points on 9 of 15 shooting in 37 minutes and Old Dominion held the Broncos' best scorer, Augustinas Kiudulas, to 12 points.

The second win came against Regent, a lower division visitor, and Scottie Hubbard scored 16 points in 14 minutes in that one while Adante' Holiman added 12 and CJ Lyons 11. That Regent game pads the defensive average, and it is worth saying plainly. The Western Michigan game is the honest signal: a Sun Belt Conference team beating a Mid-American Conference visitor behind one hot guard and a defense that took away the opponent's first option.

Across the full season last year Old Dominion went 12-21, scoring 76.2 points per game and allowing 77.9, so this season's defensive start is either a real step forward or a soft schedule talking. Bucknell's opener argues it might be real enough for this matchup. The Bison lost 96-67 at Maryland, and while Aleksander Pachucki was excellent with 23 points on 8 of 14 shooting and Rocco Lamuno added 12, nobody else reached double figures and the defense gave up 96.

Across the full season last year Bucknell finished 10-23 in the Patriot League, scoring 67.4 points per game and allowing 76.3. A team that struggled to score all last season, and just watched one player carry it at Maryland, now hosts a visitor whose whole early identity is taking scorers away.

Key Factors

The first factor is Bucknell's offense beyond Pachucki. He scored 23 of his team's 67 points at Maryland, and the next options, Lamuno with 12 and Luca Soroa Schaller with 7, did not bend the defense. Old Dominion just held Western Michigan's leading scorer to 12 points, and its scheme gets a full week of film on exactly one Bison scorer to plan for. If Pachucki sees a second defender on every catch, Bucknell has to find points from players who scored 67.4 per game as a team across last season.

The second factor is Wiggins and the Old Dominion backcourt depth behind him. Wiggins played 37 minutes against Western Michigan because he was the offense, but Hubbard's 16 points in 14 minutes against Regent and Holiman's 12 show the Monarchs can score in waves when the first option rests. Bucknell's perimeter defense allowed Maryland to shoot its way to 96 points, and it now faces a guard rotation that comes in rested and confident. The total of 144.5 sits between the two profiles.

Old Dominion's games have averaged 124 total points this season, while Bucknell's opener produced 163. A slower, defense first game favors the favorite that guards better, because every empty Bison possession stretches a modest lead. The counterpoint is the setting. This is Bucknell's home opener at Sojka Pavilion, Old Dominion has not played a road game yet, and road favorites in the first week lay small numbers in strange gyms all the time.

Pachucki is a genuine scorer who just made 8 of 14 against a Big Ten defense. If he goes off again and the home crowd lifts the role players, Bucknell can win this game outright. Old Dominion's case rests on its defense traveling, and two home games, one against a lower division team, is a thin file to trust completely.

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.