Rider Broncs vs Binghamton Bearcats Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 2

Binghamton has scored 60 and 58 points in its two games, and its one win came by three points at Saint Peter's. Rider is winless, but 7.5 points is a large tax on a home team that has not cracked 60 yet.

The Matchup

Rider visits Binghamton on Sunday afternoon at the Events Center in Binghamton, with Binghamton a 7.5-point favorite, a total of 138.5, and the Bearcats priced at -325 on the moneyline against Rider at +260. Both teams are a week into seasons that have gone about as expected for programs coming off losing years, and the question is whether Binghamton's home court and frontcourt are worth this many points against a Rider team that has at least kept its scoring balanced.

Rider lost 95-57 at Pittsburgh and 66-55 at home to New Hampshire. Khalil Farmer has scored 21 points across the two games, Bryce Baker 19, and Rich Brisco gave the Broncs 14 points and 12 rebounds against New Hampshire. Binghamton lost 86-60 at Northwestern, then won 58-55 at Saint Peter's behind Jeremiah Quigley's 28 points.

Demetrius Lilley has been the Bearcats' constant, with 22 points and 27 rebounds across the two games, double-figure rebounding in each. Last season, across the full season, Rider finished 4-25, scoring 63.4 points a game and allowing 76.0, and Binghamton finished 8-23, scoring 67.9 and allowing 74.9. Those are last season's numbers, and neither is flattering; Binghamton's edge was a slightly less broken offense, while this season's Bearcats have won with defense and Lilley's work on the glass instead.

Key Factors

Binghamton's scoring is the favorite's problem. The Bearcats have put up 60 and 58 points, and a team scoring in the fifties has to win the possession battle decisively to build a real margin.

Lilley gives them a route to exactly that, because 13 and 14 rebounds in two games can turn a low-scoring afternoon into a second-chance exercise, and Quigley's 28 at Saint Peter's showed the guard play can spike for a night. Rider's answer has to come from its balance: three players have carried its scoring, and Brisco's 12 rebounds against New Hampshire are the one sign the Broncs can contest the glass.

The total of 138.5 is the lowest kind of number, and low totals compress margins, which quietly taxes a favorite that does not score in bunches. The counterpoint is Rider's own offense, because the Broncs have scored 57 and 55 and allowed 80.5 points a game across a loss at Pittsburgh and a home loss to New Hampshire.

If Rider's shots stop falling the way they did in both second halves this week, Binghamton can cover without ever playing well, simply by letting Lilley own the boards. The bet is that two teams this limited offensively play the close, grinding game their first weeks describe, and that the points matter more than the building.

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.