Niagara at Siena

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play begins. Both teams had losing conference marks last year. Niagara has had a demanding schedule, losing to No. 5 Duke, while winning at Binghamton (67-59) as an underdog. They prefer a slower pace, as does Siena, coming off a Thanksgiving Classic sweep in close wins over Longwood (70-63), American University (59-55), and Maine (64-60). They're a huge favorite, despite having a middling offense averaging 68.7 points, shooting 71.1% from the line and 24.8% from long range. Sienna is on a 7-11 ATS run. These teams played a nail-biter last season (69-68), and this one will be close, so back the big dog. Play Niagara.