#750 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Drexel -3 over Hofstra, Thursday at 7 PM ET - We’re getting some nice line value in this game with Drexel laying a short number at home. That’s because the Dragons have lost 4 of their last 5 games while Hofstra has won 7 of their last 8. Hofstra has played only ONE team ranked in the top 200 over their last 8 games while Drexel has faced 4 opponents ranked inside the top 200 in their last 5 games. Their 4 losses during that stretch have all been on the road and they are entering this game off 3 straight losses (all on the road) so we expect a motivated effort here from the host. They are catching Hofstra in a rough scheduling spot as well playing their 3rd road game in a week. The Pride step into this game off back to back road wins last Thursday @ Hamptons and on Saturday @ North Carolina A&T. Nothing overly impressive about those 2 wins topping 2 of the worst teams in college basketball who rank 351st and 343rd respectively. Now Hofstra takes a huge step up in competition vs a home team that is very motivated to get a win. The 4 highest rated teams (per KenPom) in the CAA this year are UNC Wilmington, Charleston, Drexel, and Delaware. The Dragons have played host to 2 of those teams (UNCW & Delaware) and rolled to easy wins by 15 and 19 points. They were favored by 6 at home vs Delaware and now they are laying a full possession lower than that vs a Hofstra team that is rated lower. Both of these teams are 8-4 in CAA action but Drexel has played the #5 strength of schedule in conference play while Hofstra has played the easiest slate. Despite playing the much tougher slate in CAA play Drexel has better efficiency numbers with a +12.00 efficiency margin (offensive efficiency minus defensive efficiency) while Hofstra is +7.00 in that key category. Drexel is the better team here, in the much better situation, laying a small number at home. We’ll take it.