Columbia vs Maine 12/4/21 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Maine Black Bears will travel to Francis S. Levien Gymnasium to take on the Columbia Lions this Saturday afternoon in College Basketball action.

The Maine Black Bears lost their 2^nd straight game and dropped to 2-4 on the season after being defeated by the Bradley Braves, 71-39, this past Saturday. Maine had no answers on the offensive end against the Bradley defense and could not fight back after Bradley took a 44-27 lead with 12:37 left in the 2^nd half. Maine shot just 28.8% from the field & 12.5% from beyond the arc while allowing Bradley to shoot 56.8% from the field & 55.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Black Bears was Peter Filipovity who had 11 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block, & 1 steal.

On the season, Maine is averaging 55.7 ppg on 36.5% shooting from the field. The Black Bears are averaging 3.8 three-pointers per game on 19.8% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Maine has been led by Vukasin Masic (8.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.7 apg), Stephane Ingo (7.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.5 bpg), LeChaun DuHart (6.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.3 spg), & Kristians Feierbergs (5.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.0 apg).

Defensively, Maine is allowing their opponents to an average of 67.0 ppg on 46.2% shooting from the field. The Black Bears have a rebound margin of 4.0 and a turnover margin of 1.5.

The Columbia Lions lost their 4^th straight game and dropped to 2-6 on the season after being defeated by the UMBC Retrievers, 98-60, this past Wednesday. Columbia struggled offensively against UMBC and could not fight back after going into halftime trailing by a 49-19 margin. Columbia shot just 37.1% from the field & 27.8% from beyond the arc while allowing UMBC to shoot 46.6% from the field & 41.4% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for Columbia was Liam Murphy who had 14 points & 7 rebounds.

On the season, Columbia is averaging 68.5 ppg on 42.2% shooting from the field. The Lions are averaging 7.5 three-pointers per game on 35.3% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Columbia has been led by Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa (13.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.3 spg), Liam Murphy (12.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.0 apg), Josh Odunowo (8.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.3 bpg), & Patrick Harding (5.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.8 apg).

Defensively, Columbia is allowing their opponents to average 77.6 ppg on 44.0% shooting from the field. The Lions have a rebound margin of -1.1 and a turnover margin of -2.8.

The Black Bears are 5-11 ATS in their last 16 games vs. a team with a losing straight up record & 0-6 ATS in their last 6 games overall. The Lions are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 home games & 0-6 ATS in their last 6 home games vs. a team with a losing road record.

Maine has been decent somewhat on the defensive end this season, ranking t-148^th in scoring defense, however, the Black Bears have no offensive threats and come into this game ranked just 348^th in scoring offense & 346^th in FG%. Columbia has struggled on both ends of the court this season and come into this game ranked just 243^rd in scoring offense & 314^th in scoring defense.

Both Maine & Columbia aren’t going to picking up many wins this season, however, as Maine doesn’t have a single player averaging double-digits, I think Columbia can do enough on their home court to cover this mid-range spread. Good Luck!