UMass vs Rhode Island 1/14/23 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Rhode Island Rams and the UMass Minutemen meet Saturday in college basketball action from Mullins Center. Rhode Island is 6-10 on the season. The Rams beat St. Bonaventure on Wednesday. As for UMass, they’re 10-6 overall and fresh off a Wednesday loss to La Salle. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Rhode Island was 4-8 after 12 games this year, beating only Stony Brook, Illinois State, Army and UMass Lowell. The Rams are 2-2 since then with losses to Duquesne and La Salle alongside wins over Fordham and St. Bonaventure. 

In the St. Bonaventure game on Wednesday, the Rams were up 29-27 at the break. Rhode Island was outscored 40-39 from there but hung on for the 68-67 win. Ishmael Leggett put up 23 points with 14 rebounds in the victory. 

Over on the UMass side, they were 9-3 after 12 games with losses to Towson, UMass Lowell and North Texas. The Minutemen are 1-3 since then with losses to St. Bonaventure, George Washington and La Salle. 

In the La Salle matchup back on Wednesday, the Minutemen took a 44-38 advantage into the second half. UMass posted a 40-33 deficit from there and lost 78-77. Noah Fernandes led the team on 16 points with five assists. 

PICK: I’m going to stick with UMass. The Minutemen had a bad second half versus La Salle in their last game, and they’re on a shaky 1-3 run right now. That said, UMass is still scoring pretty well; they’ve hit 73 or more points in three straight outings. As for Rhode Island, they’ve hit 68 or more points in three straight games themselves. That said, the Rams have also given up 67 or more points in seven straight outings. UMass should have some room to score in this one.