The Winthrop Eagles and the Queens Royals will start the 2025-26 college basketball season with an early-morning showdown on Monday. These two 20-win teams from last season will go head-to-head in a non-conference opener worth waking up for. Which of these teams will have a good morning on Monday? Continue reading to get my Winthrop vs Queens University prediction.
The Eagles had one of the top offenses in the country last season, averaging 84.7 points per game. Their defense allowed 78.0 points per game in a season where the Eagles came up one game short of the NCAA Tournament by losing to High Point in the Big South championship game. Winthrop will look to start this season with a win in this neutral-site matchup.
The Queens University Royals are still establishing themselves at the Division I level. They finished 20-15 overall last season but just 11-7 in the Atlantic Sun. They just added Georgia Southern transfer Avantae Parker to bolster their frontcourt. The offseason brought 13 newcomers, which could mean potential early-season growing pains for the Royals.
A big storyline going into this game is the start time. It is usually expected that games are lower-scoring when they start this early. But that is mostly anecdotal, as defense could suffer just as much as offense due to the bizarre scheduling of this game.
The biggest key to this game might just be the time played right before the first media timeout. Getting off to a fast start despite the body's internal clock having to adjust to these game conditions could ultimately decide this game. Most college kids aren't usually ready to play a basketball game at 8:00 a.m. In fact, most college kids aren't awake at that time at all.
Score Projection: Winthrop 86 – Queens 78
Win Probability: Winthrop 65%, Queens 35%
Given Winthrop’s stronger track record and superior offensive output, I think that they will win and cover the spread in this season-opening matchup. Queens' defense is expected to struggle this year, with KenPom ranking them 302nd defensively before the start of the season. Winthrop and their fast-paced style of play should take advantage of that and win this game to make an early statement.
Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.
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