Army vs. Navy Odds
| Army Odds | -550 |
| Navy Odds | +375 |
| Total | 23.5 |
| Time | Saturday, 12 p.m. ET |
| TV | CBS Sports Network |
It’s rivalry week in NCAA men’s lacrosse with several pivotal matchups, including the historic Army-Navy tilt, on the slate. This will be the 102nd meeting between the two service academies.
Navy currently leads the series, 62-36-3, and is the most recent victor, having won 9-4 in 2021. The largest margin of victory for either team is 11 goals, while 24 games have been decided by just one goal. Let’s take a look at how the 2022 teams stack up this season.
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Army Black Knights
Joe Alberici’s 2022 Army squad is having one of the program’s best seasons to date and currently holds a 10-2 record and the fifth ranking in Inside Lacrosse’s national media poll. Led by Brendan Nichtern, the program’s career leader in points and assists, Army’s offense is the 12th-most efficient in the country, according to Lacrosse Reference. The team currently ranks 13th in pace and 10th in goals per game with 14.58. Furthermore, the team is coming off a dominant 17-10 win over the eighth-ranked Cornell Big Red last week.
Army enters its matchup with Navy as 4.5-point favorites and boasts an average win margin of 5.30 goals in its 10 wins. However, while Army is currently 5-1 in Patriot League play, their average win margin against Patriot League opponents is only 2.67 goals.
Navy Midshipmen
Joe Amplo’s Midshipmen have had a fairly lackluster season so far. They opened the season with an upset loss to Mount St. Mary’s and have suffered big losses to Loyola Maryland and Boston University. Despite not having a win against a ranked opponent, they currently have a 3-3 record in the Patriot League and are 7-5 overall.
The Midshipmen offense has been dreadful, ranking 51st in goals per game with an average of 10.58. It also ranks 50th in offensive efficiency according to Lacrosse Reference and plays at a relatively slow pace (48th in the country). Despite the offensive woes, Navy boasts a defense that ranks 11th in defensive efficiency and 11th in goals allowed per game with an average of 10.08.
Army vs. Navy Betting Pick
The total opened at 24.5 and currently sits at 23.5, which is still fairly high for two teams who have a track record of low-scoring affairs. The last time there were more than 23.5 goals scored in an Army-Navy lacrosse game was 2004. The average total during that 22-game span is 17.4 goals, well below the current total of 23.5. Even if you only examine the two games played during the shot clock era that began in 2019, you’d find that the average total for those two games was 15.
Despite Army’s offense being one of the more high-powered that the service academy has boasted in recent years, this game is destined to have a low total. Outside of Bucknell, Navy’s 10th ranked defense will be the toughest Army has faced all season. While Army should still be able to win outright and potentially cover the 4.5-point spread, you can expect the Midshipmen to slow down the Black Knights more than they’re used to.
On the other side of the field, we shouldn’t expect the 51st ranked Navy offense to have much success against this Wyatt Schupler-led Army defense, which, according to Lacrosse Reference, ranks 29th in defensive efficiency and has held opponents to an average of 10.50 goals per game.
There are few things more American than betting a service academy under, no matter the sport. Exercise your unalienable right to bet and take under 23.5 in Army-Navy this weekend.
Pick: Under 23.5 (Play to Under 22.5)
