The UMass Lowell River Hawks and the Dartmouth Big Green meet Friday in college basketball action from Leede Arena. UMass Lowell is 1-0 so far this year following a blowout win over Rivier on Monday. As for Dartmouth, they took a blowout loss to Duke in their first game of the season. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

UMass Lowell River Hawks 

UMass Lowell posted a nice 26-8 overall record last season with an 11-5 run in the America East. The River Hawks finished below a surging Vermont (14-2) in the conference standings, however. After a four-game win streak to finish off the season, UMass Lowell beat Maine and New Hampshire in the conference tourney before falling versus Vermont. 

In their first action of the 2023-24 season back on Monday, the River Hawks didn’t have too many issues versus Rivier. After a 50-27 halftime lead, UMass Lowell closed with 46 points in a 96-51 win. Leading the scoring were Karim Coulibaly and Ayinde Hikim, each with 15 points. Quinton Mincey doubled up with 10 points and 10 rebounds as well. 

Dartmouth Big Green 

Over on the Dartmouth side, they’re coming off a pretty disappointing 10-18 overall run last season with a 6-8 record in the Ivy League. The Big Green started out conference play with a 4-3 record but ended up losing five of their final seven games to miss out on a tournament appearance at season’s end. 

The Big Green had an unenviable matchup in their opener this year. Dartmouth faced off against No. 2-ranked Duke and gave up 50 second-half points in a 92-54 loss. The only Green player to finish in double-figures was Dusan Neskovic with 23 points, but Ryan Cornish got close with nine points. 

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’ll probably stay with UMass Lowell. We should have a pretty fun matchup here though, especially if Dartmouth can rebound after the big opener loss. The River Hawks didn’t struggle much in their opener versus Rivier, shooting a smooth 55.4 percent from the field with a 54-28 rebounding advantage and 17 team assists. The Big Green will provide a more formidable opponent here, however. 

Speaking of Dartmouth, they shot just 33.9 percent from the field in the Duke loss but didn’t do too badly on the boards with a 33-29 deficit. I like the Big Green to regroup and play better in this one but I don’t think they’ll cover.