Colgate Raiders vs Delaware Blue Hens, College Basketball Picks

This projection and current market action are supplementary and do not influence the final qualitative pick and analysis of today's game.

Colgate covers the spread on the back of a genuine offensive edge that Delaware has no real answer for in the 2025-26 season. Colgate shoots the ball efficiently from everywhere on the floor, converts inside and from deep at a solid rate, and takes care of the ball considerably better than most Division I programs, which means they will generate clean possessions against a Delaware defense that does not create turnovers at a meaningful rate. Andrew Alekseyenko is the sharper primary scorer in this matchup, connecting on nearly half his field goal attempts while Devin Dinkins has struggled to find his shot from both the floor and beyond the arc, putting real pressure on the rest of Delaware's roster to carry offensive weight it has not shown the capacity to carry in the 2025-26 season. Both defenses are roughly equivalent and modest, so the game is likely to be decided by which offense can sustain its rhythm, and that competition tilts clearly toward Colgate. Delaware has been a below-average team all season and has struggled equally at home and on the road, which strips the home floor of whatever psychological weight it might otherwise carry. The strongest counterargument is that Colgate has dropped four of their last five games, suggesting their offense may not be clicking at its peak level heading into this spot, but Delaware's recent form is comparably inconsistent and their structural offensive deficiencies run deeper than a cold stretch.

The under is the right side of the total in a matchup where both offenses carry meaningful limitations and neither defense has shown an ability to get stops through pressure or rim protection in the 2025-26 season. Delaware ranks among the lower tier of Division I offenses in points per game and shooting efficiency, gives the ball away more than average, and generates assists at a low rate, all of which point to a team that struggles to build sustained offensive rhythm. Colgate's offense is the sharper of the two, but their recent skid across four of their last five games suggests they are not operating at peak efficiency heading into this game. Both teams rank in the bottom third of Division I for steals and blocks, so there will not be an abundance of quick-stop possessions or transition opportunities driving the pace upward. With two modest defenses and one offense that is currently cold and another that has been limited all season, the conditions favor a lower-scoring game where neither team can consistently pile on points. The genuine counterargument is that Colgate's ball security and shooting efficiency could allow them to generate enough clean looks to push the total higher on their own, but Delaware's offensive floor is so low that it anchors the combined output even when Colgate is functioning well.