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Sacred Heart heads to Lawrenceville to face Rider on Monday, January 19, 2026 at 2:00 PM ET, with the game at Alumni Gymnasium and streaming on ESPN+. It’s a MAAC conference matchup, and the line says Sacred Heart should be the better side even on the road, laying 3.5 with a total of 141.5.
The records are ugly on both ends. Sacred Heart is 6-13 and has struggled away from home at 3-9, while Rider is 2-15 and has been one of the weakest teams in the league week to week. Still, a road favorite with a losing record is always a spot where you have to ask if you’re paying for a team’s ceiling or just betting against the opponent’s floor.
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Sacred Heart Pioneers vs Rider Broncs Odds
These are the current betting lines, and bettors should always monitor updated college basketball odds before tipoff. You can track the latest number on the latest college basketball odds.
| Team | Moneyline | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sacred Heart Pioneers | -175 | -3.5 (-113) | O 141.5 |
| Rider Broncs | +140 | +3.5 (-110) | U 141.5 |
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Sacred Heart Pioneers Betting Form
Sacred Heart’s path to offense is pretty clear. They shoot a ton of threes and they actually make them, with 10.6 made threes per game, and they pair that with strong free-throw shooting. That combination matters for betting because it gives them two ways to score even when the half-court execution gets messy. When they win, it’s usually because they stack a few made threes, get to the line enough to steady the scoring, and avoid the kind of turnover stretch that turns a road game into chaos.
The catch is the travel profile. A 3-9 road record isn’t something you can ignore, especially when you’re laying points. Sacred Heart can look sharp for five minutes and then go quiet for five minutes, and that’s how backdoor covers happen. Still, against a Rider team that’s struggled to score consistently, the matchup leans toward Sacred Heart being able to build separation if the threes are even close to normal. For more context across recent results and team splits, the Sacred Heart stats and results hub is the quickest place to start.
| Player | Pos | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| None listed | — | — | No confirmed injuries found |
Rider Broncs Betting Form
Rider’s season has been mostly about fighting uphill. They have a couple of competitive efforts mixed in, and they did beat Iona at home recently, but the offense is still the problem that keeps showing up. They’re not a reliable shooting team, and when they fall behind, they often don’t have the spacing or shot creation to climb back without a lot of help from turnovers or foul trouble on the other side.
The part that gives Rider a chance here is pretty basic. They need to rebound well enough to steal extra possessions, and they need Flash Burton and the guards to hit enough shots to keep Sacred Heart from playing free and easy. If Rider is trading empty trips for Sacred Heart threes, this gets away from them fast. If Rider can make Sacred Heart guard for a full possession and keep the pace slower, the +3.5 starts to look more reasonable.
| Player | Pos | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| None listed | — | — | No confirmed injuries found |
Sacred Heart Pioneers vs Rider Broncs Matchup Breakdown
This matchup is mostly about shot math. Sacred Heart takes and makes threes at a high rate, and Rider doesn’t consistently match that kind of scoring punch. That’s the cleanest edge on the board, because it’s the difference between needing perfect execution and simply needing normal shooting. Sacred Heart can win stretches without playing great because one or two threes can erase a sloppy possession.
The other swing point is pace. Rider’s best chance is to keep this game from turning into a three-point contest, which really means limiting open looks and avoiding live-ball turnovers that lead to quick points. If Sacred Heart is comfortable early and the game opens up, Rider can get buried by 10 before the half without doing anything particularly wrong. It just happens when you can’t trade buckets.
The total sits at 141.5, and it’s one of those numbers that depends on how much Rider contributes. Sacred Heart can carry a decent portion of it, but Rider has to do its part, and that’s where the under case shows up. If you’re thinking about totals through pace, shot quality, and how often a team gets easy points at the line, that broader framework from an expert betting guide style approach applies here too.
Sacred Heart Pioneers vs Rider Broncs Predictions and Best Bets
I lean Sacred Heart -3.5. The matchup fits them. They have the more reliable scoring profile, and against a Rider team that’s struggled to reach even modest offensive benchmarks, the three-point edge is hard to ignore. Sacred Heart doesn’t need to be dominant, it just needs to avoid the classic road favorite mistakes, quick shots, careless turnovers, and defensive lapses that give a bad team confidence.
The main concern is that Sacred Heart is still a 6-13 team laying points on the road, and those teams tend to make things uncomfortable. If the threes aren’t dropping, you can end up in a game where Sacred Heart is better but not separated, and that’s where a late foul sequence or one Rider run can swing the cover. I still prefer the favorite because Rider’s offense is not something I want to bet on, even at home.
On the total, I lean Under 141.5. This isn’t a pure “both teams are slow” argument. It’s more about Rider’s ability to score cleanly for 40 minutes. If Rider is stuck in the low 60s, the under has a lot of ways to get there even if Sacred Heart plays well. If Rider shoots unusually well, that’s when the over becomes live, but that’s not the script I’d bet as the base case.
Best Bet: Sacred Heart Pioneers -3.5 (-113).
NCAAB Picks and Handicappers on ScoresAndStats
The easiest way to stay consistent with college basketball betting is to treat it like a slate, not a single game. When you’re tracking numbers every day, you start seeing which teams cover because of repeatable edges and which teams only show up when shots fall. That’s why the today’s college basketball picks page is useful, because it gives you a quick view of where opinions and positions are lining up across the board.
It also helps you stay price-focused. In games like this, the best bet is usually the one where the number is doing the most work for you, and that often means trusting the team with the cleaner scoring profile and fewer ways to implode. Sacred Heart is far from perfect, but the way they score is more predictable than Rider’s, and predictability is what you’re paying for when you lay a small road number.
