Liberty vs. Oral Roberts Prediction and Odds for Monday, December 12 (Back Golden Eagles to Go Up-Tempo vs. Flames)

It was two years ago that the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles and Max Abmas were the Cinderella story of March Madness. Fast forward to now, and Abmas is still around, leading them to a 7-3 record to start this season. Now, they’ll face off against the Liberty Flames who are 6-3.

Fans of both these two Evangelical-based schools might have to wear a split jersey for this one like Mrs. Watt, when her sons J.J. and T.J. played against each other.

Here are the latest odds for tonight's matchup: 

Liberty vs. Oral Roberts Odds, Spread and Total

Liberty vs. Oral Roberts Prediction and Pick

These teams are pretty similar at first glance. Both has three losses and are led by a dynamic scoring guard. Obviously that’s Abmas for Oral Roberts, he is averaging 19.0 points a game, but he’s actually been shooting it pretty poorly from three, only 33% and his scoring is down from years past. For Liberty, it’s Darius McGhee who scores 21.2 points a game and is shooting 46% from the field, 43% from deep and 90% from the line. 

The difference though is their pace of play. Oral Roberts is 23rd in possessions per game and 40th in KenPom’s adjusted tempo, while Liberty ranks 348th, and 337th respectively. That is why the Golden Eagles score about 11 more points a game. Liberty is much better on the defensive end than Oral Roberts, but I don't think they will be able to keep up with the pace that Abmas and company want to play at. 

These two teams are back-to-back in KenPom, but they’re very different in play-style. I like Oral Roberts much more because a faster pace is often more reliable. They don’t have to shoot the ball great because they just have so many more opportunities to score. 

Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change