We've got a very solid college basketball slate here on Thursday with a bunch of games to pore over, and today we will be taking a look at this Sun Belt matchup as the Troy Trojans get ready to host the James Madison Dukes. Both of these teams are 12-7 and the conference standings are very tight so far, so it should be a good one. And oddsmakers have this game as an even pick 'em, so it's expected to be close. Let's break it all down:
James Madison used to be pretty terrible, but they have graduated to become an average team the past couple of seasons. As they look to take the next step this time around and improve to being a real contender in the Sun Belt, it appears they've made a pretty big leap.
After finishing last season ranked 227th nationally according to Kenpom, they enter this one at 91st. That's in large part because of their defense, which ranks 56th in efficiency. That's also in large part thanks to the work they did in the transfer portal this offseason, which included bringing in big man Mezie Offurum from Mount St Mary's, who is now the team's leading rebounder. This is also a really experienced team, as each of their top 10 scorers are in at least their third season of college basketball. In addition to the stellar defense that they play I have also been pretty impressed with their offense, which is putting up 8 5 points per game. They shoot better than 36% from deep and 49% from the floor.
“We got Harrisonburg behind us. … We can compete with anyone!”
-@GaryParrishCBS with @JMUMBasketball's Vado Morse pic.twitter.com/mcQNDVWYrh
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) December 8, 2021
The Dukes understandably lost on the road to an elite North Carolina team early in the season, and they have lost six games since. Two of those six losses came in overtime, and the other four came by a combined 16 points. One of them was on the road to Virginia by only five. They're coming off a double digit win over Georgia Southern, and James Madison has actually played pretty well on the road this year. They are 4-4 on the highway, but two of those losses were the aforementioned ones to North Carolina and Virginia, and another was by just a single point.