Maine vs Navy prediction, odds, pick for College Basketball

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It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Maine Navy prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Maine Navy.

Thanksgiving weekend concludes with more college basketball action. There have been a lot of revealing collisions in nonconference play. This is one — it’s simply at the lower end of the college basketball food chain.

Maine is 4-4. Navy is 3-5. Both teams will be fighting uphill battles in conference play this season. They have been roughed up in the first four weeks of the season. Maine has shown some resilience, battling back from a 2-4 start to win its last two games against Elon and Holy Cross. Navy had lost three straight games from Nov. 12-19, but it was able to then beat Pennsylvania in its most recent game.

One thing you might look at as a bettor is to identify any details in these teams’ opponents which might unearth an extra ounce of perspective. Elon is a team which hammered Northern Illinois by over 20 points. Maine beating Elon might be a better win than a lot of people think. Elon then beat Navy on Saturday on a neutral floor. Elon is a common opponent, and Maine handled Elon far better than Navy did. That’s a clear-cut comparison between these two teams.

Navy beating Penn on Friday was a good win for the Midshipmen because it was a true road win. The game was on Penn’s home floor at The Palestra, where this game is also being played on Sunday. Navy adjusted well to the shooting environment and backdrop. Playing in the same building two days later gives Navy a chance to shoot the ball well.

Nonconference play throws two teams together in very uncertain circumstances. The early portion of the season forces teams to learn how to play together on the fly. They can practice in the gym all they want in October, but live action creates the most pressure and involves an accelerated speed which forces players to either sink or swim. Two or three weeks into a season, teams might still be struggling to create that five-as-one cohesion which creates excellent basketball. In week four or week five of a season — where we are now — teams that struggled early might begin to get the hang of how to function as a collective on the court. That’s the real intrigue found in this Maine-Navy contest, whose odds were late in being posted. You will need to look them up before the start of Sunday’s game in Philadelphia.

Here are the Maine-Navy College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel 

College Basketball Odds: Maine-Navy Odds

Maine: not listed

Moneyline: N/A

Navy: not listed

Moneyline: N/A

Over: not listed

Under: not listed

How to Watch Maine vs Navy

Time: 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT

TV: ESPN Plus

Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)

Why Maine Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Elon comparison is very stark: Maine beat Elon by 13, while Elon beat Navy by six. That’s 19 points of separation between these two teams, and it offers by far the best reason to take Maine. Keep in mind that these Elon results occurred over the past few days at this multi-day Thanksgiving weekend tournament. If common-opponent results were from early or mid-November, it might be a different story in terms of how much weight we assign to those outcomes.

Why Navy Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Midshipmen’s win over Penn is a sign that they can win true road games and won’t be bothered by going into a building other than their own. Navy can stand up to Maine. Let’s not inflate how good the Black Bears are. They’re 4-4, thoroughly mediocre. Maine can keep Navy in this game. That might be the best argument you can make for Navy.

Final Maine-Navy Prediction & Pick

Our lean is to Maine, but you will need to look at the odds once they are posted.

Final Maine-Navy Prediction & Pick: Maine moneyline

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