Friday College Basketball Betting Odds & Picks: Mount St. Mary’s vs. Coppin State

After a day of rest, the college basketball world gets back to action with two smaller conference games.

Let's take a closer look at Mount St. Mary's hosting Coppin State, and see which team has the advantage on the college hardwood.

Friday College Basketball Betting Pick

Odds as of Friday at 11 a.m. ET and via FanDuel, where Action Network users get a risk-free bet up to $500.

Mount St. Mary's vs. Coppin State

• Spread: Mount St. Mary's -5
• Over/Under: 137.5
• Time: 7 p.m. ET
• TV:  NEC Front Row

Coppin State (4-9) enters this game trying to right the ship after three consecutive road losses to Davidson, UMBC and Miami. The Eagles are an impressive 9-4 against the spread (ATS) including 7-4 on the road.

Mount St. Mary's (3-9) will be trying to snap a four-game losing streak including consecutive home losses to Loyola (Maryland) and American by an average of 11 points. The Mountaineers are 6-5 ATS, including just 1-2 at home.

Former Maryland star Juan Dixon has reasons for optimism in his third season guiding Coppin State. He has surrounded last year's returning top scorer, junior guard Dejuan Clayton, with several newcomers.

Clayton (12.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.2 apg) has teamed nicely with Tennessee State transfer Kamar McNight (15.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg) to form a strong scoring backcourt. McKnight has scored in double-figures in Coppin State's past six games, and 10 of its 12 contests overall.

The Eagles have vastly improved in offensive turnovers, improving from their 344th-worst ranking in 2019 to 78th best this season. Coppin State has also limited opponents to just 31.4% from 3-point range.

Mount St. Mary's is trying to improve from last year's penultimate finish in the Northeast Conference, but has yet to improve on its slow offensive pace from last season. The Mountaineers rank just 321st in adjusted tempo and have failed to crest 48 points in two of their last three games.

They rank worse than Coppin State in effective field goal percentage, 3P%, and 2P%.

The Mount is still a relatively inexperienced team with an average of 1.23 years of experience per player (KenPom).

I'm taking a more experienced Eagles team with the points on the road against a weak Mount St. Mary's defense.

The Pick: Coppin State +5