Old Dominion Monarchs vs Norfolk State Spartans Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 2

Old Dominion is allowing just 52.7 points a game through three games after allowing 77.9 across a 12-21 season, and Norfolk State leans on Bahsil Laster at 16.3 points a night. A total of 140.5 and a short road line frame the evening at Echols Hall.

The Matchup

Old Dominion visits Norfolk State on Wednesday at Joseph G. Echols Hall in Norfolk, with Old Dominion a 4.5-point favorite, a total of 140.5, and the Monarchs priced at -225 on the moneyline against the Spartans at +185. The tip is at 6:00 PM CT. This is a short trip and a short line between two Virginia programs, and the road favorite's case rests on a defense that has been the story of its young season.

Old Dominion is 3-0 in the Sun Belt Conference, scoring 78.0 points a game and allowing just 52.7 in the 2026-27 season. Zacch Wiggins leads the Monarchs at 13.3 points a game, Khoi Thurmon leads them at 5.3 assists a game, and Jared Turner leads them at 7.0 rebounds a game, a balanced profile with a different leader in every category. Norfolk State is 2-1 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, scoring 73.0 points a game and allowing 73.3. Bahsil Laster leads the Spartans at 16.3 points and 3.3 assists a game, leading the team in scoring and creating at once, and J.C. Riley Jr. leads them at 7.3 rebounds a game.

Old Dominion's defensive start is a break from its own past, and the size of the break is the caveat and the case at once. The Monarchs went 12-21 in 2025-26, scored 76.2 points a game, and allowed 77.9, a losing team that could not stop anyone.

Allowing 52.7 a night through three games this season is either the start of a genuinely rebuilt defense or a friendly opening stretch correcting itself, and Norfolk State, at home, is the first test that can answer it. The Spartans have no such mystery: they went 15-17 last season, scored 76.4, and allowed 73.8, and this season's 73.0 scored and 73.3 allowed is the same near-even team, playing in its own building.

Key Factors

The defensive difference decides this game if it holds for one more night. Old Dominion allows 52.7 points a game; Norfolk State allows 73.3, and a home team that gives up points at that rate has to outscore a defense that has not let anyone breathe.

Laster is Norfolk State's route to doing it. At 16.3 points a game he is the best scorer on the floor, clear of Wiggins at 13.3, and his 3.3 assists a game mean the Spartans' offense runs through him in both roles, which makes him the one player the Monarchs' defense has to solve.

Thurmon gives Old Dominion the steadier offense around its defense. At 5.3 assists a game against Laster's 3.3, he is the better pure creator, and with Wiggins scoring and Turner rebounding at 7.0 a game, level with Riley at 7.3 for the Spartans, the Monarchs do not need a single hot hand to score their 78.0 a night. Balanced road favorites cover short lines by surviving the home team's best run; a team with three separate leaders has more ways to survive one.

The honest counterpoint is that Old Dominion's defensive number has three games behind it and a 12-21 season arguing against it. Norfolk State is 2-1, plays at home, and has the game's best scorer in Laster, and home underdogs with the best player on the floor win games like this outright when the favorite's early-season defense turns out to be schedule-made. If Laster gets to his spots early and the Spartans score near their usual 73.0, the Monarchs' rebuilt defense is a story for another night and the home crowd carries a close finish.

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.