Hofstra vs UMass 12/11/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The UMass Minutemen and the Hofstra Pride meet Sunday in college basketball action from Barclays Center. UMass is 7-2 overall this year and fresh off a loss to UMass Lowell. As for Hofstra, they’re 6-4 overall. The Pride lost to Purdue in their last appearance. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

UMass went 7-1 over their first eight games this year, beating Central CT State, Colorado, Murray State, Charlotte, South Florida, Harvard and Albany (while losing to Towson). The Minutemen took another loss on Thursday versus UMass Lowell. 

In the Thursday matchup, the Minutemen posted a 38-30 deficit in the first half. UMass got better from there but still lost 85-80. Leading scorer Matt Cross put up 19 points, and RJ Luis managed 14 points.

Over on the Hofstra side, they went 4-0 to start the year with wins over Princeton, Iona, George Washington and San Jose State. The Pride are just 2-4 since, losing to Saint Mary’s, Middle Tennessee, George Mason and Purdue. 

Matched up against Purdue on Wednesday, the Pride were drilled 54-34 in the first half. Hofstra scored another 32 points in the second half during an 85-66 loss. Amar’e Marshall topped the team on 24 points with four rebounds. 

PICK: I’ll probably stick with UMass. The Minutemen really need a nice bounce-back effort however; this one could be close. UMass has been scoring pretty well lately; they’ve got 71 or more points in four straight games. The Minutemen had a solid offensive day in the UMass Lowell loss but the bad first half set the mood for the game. As for Hofstra, they’ve scored 72 or more in two of their last three, and they could be a pesky opponent if they’re on point. I like this one to be a fun, competitive game with UMass eking out a cover in the end.