Half-time report
After a tough loss on the road in their last outing, William and Mary look much better today on their home court. They jumped out to an early 41-33 lead against Navy.
William & Mary came into the match with extra motivation after the defeat handed to them the last time these two teams faced each other. We’ll see if they are able to flip the script or if it will just be more of the same.
Who’s playing
Midshipmen @ William & Mary Tribe
Current records: Navy 3-9, William and Mary 5-7
How to watch
- When: Sunday, December 29, 2024 at 1 p.m. ET
- Or: Kaplan Arena – Williamsburg, Virginia
- TV: FloSports
- Follow: CBS Sports app
- Online broadcast: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket cost: $23.16
What you need to know
William & Mary is 0-3 against Navy since December 2021 but things could change on Sunday. The William & Mary Tribe will finish 2024 at home by hosting the Midshipmen at 1 p.m. ET at Kaplan Arena. The Tribe will look to keep their five-game home winning streak dating back to last season alive.
Pundits thought William & Mary would stumble in the game after a tough loss to VCU, and, well: They made that call. William & Mary suffered a painful 90-70 loss to VCU on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Navy’s recent rough patch got a little tougher this past Saturday after its fifth straight loss. They fell 68-60 to Coppin State. This was the Midshipmen’s lowest-scoring game so far this season.
Navy’s loss shouldn’t overshadow the performances of Austin Benigni, who scored 7 of 10 en route to 23 points plus five rebounds, and Jinwoo Kim, who scored 13 points plus three steals. This dominant performance also allowed Benigni to reach a new career high in field goal percentage (70%).
William & Mary’s loss dropped their record to 5-7. As for Navy, its loss dropped its record to 3-9.
This competition is shaping up to be an explosion: William & Mary simply cannot fail this season, having drained 46.8% of their field goals per game. It’s a different story for Navy, as they’ve made just 40.8 percent of their field goals this season. Given William & Mary’s considerable advantage in this area, the Navy will need to find a way to close this gap.
As for their next match, William & Mary are the favorites, as experts expect them to win by 9.5 points. For those looking to play the spread, keep William & Mary’s opponent in mind: They have a mediocre 0-3 ATS record against Navy in their last three matchups.
Odds
William & Mary is a heavy 9.5-point favorite against Navy, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The punters were perfectly in tune with the betting community on this point, as the game opened with a 9.5 point spread and stayed there.
Oddsmakers are expecting fireworks from the offense and have pegged the over/under at a high of 162.5 points.
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History of the series
Navy has won every game they have played against William & Mary over the last 3 years.
- December 30, 2023 – Navy 77 vs. William & Mary 65
- November 7, 2022 – Navy 74 vs. William & Mary 59
- December 1, 2021 – Navy 75 vs. William & Mary 56
