NCAAB: Eckel picks tonights Monmouth @ Rider MAAC matchup

Monmouth (+8) at Rider, 7 p.m.
The Pick: Monmouth +8 and over 140.

Vegas must not be paying attention to the MAAC.

These are two teams headed in the opposite direction.

Rider, the preseason MAAC favorite with a lineup that some observers called the best in recent school history, jumped out to a 7-1 conference mark and seemed ready at worst to be the regular-season champs and top seed in the tourney.

Five straight losses later, the last one to Quinnipiac where the Broncs (12-13) blew a seven-point lead with 24 seconds left, leaves them at 7-6. You read that right by the way. Seven points. Twenty-four seconds. That’s almost impossible. But Rider made it happen.

To put it mildly, this Broncs team is a mess.

Monmouth was a bigger mess to start the season. The Hawks (10-16) were 0-12. Yes, you read that right, too. Oh and Twelve.

They beat Penn in their last non-conference game and are now 9-4 and in first place in the MAAC as they head west on 195 to take on the Broncs.

Monmouth coach King Rice, the former North Carolina star, has seen his team has win four straight and eight out of its last 10. The Hawks are also over .500 (14-12) against the spread and have covered in seven of their last 10 games.

Rider, whose losing streak began with a loss at Monmouth (75-71), is an alarming 6-19 against the spread this season and even more alarming 1-8 against the spread in the friendly confines of Alumni Gym.

Need more? The underdog has covered in four of the last five games between these two Jersey rivals.