UMass Minutemen (13-11) vs. La Salle Explorers (11-13)
February 11, 2023 2:00 pm EDT
The Line: La Salle Explorers -1 / UMass Minutemen +1 ; Over/Under: 146.5
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The UMass Minutemen and the La Salle Explorers meet Saturday in college basketball action from Tom Gola Arena. UMass is currently 13-11 on the season. The Minutemen lost to Fordham in their last matchup on Wednesday. As for La Salle, they’re 11-13 following a Wednesday win over St. Bonaventure. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
UMass Minutemen
UMass managed a reasonable 10-6 record over their first 16 games of the season. In the eight outings since, the Minutemen are just 3-5, though. The losses in that time came to VCU, St. Joseph’s, George Mason, Davidson and Fordham.
Matched up against Fordham on Wednesday, the Minutemen took a 39-32 edge into halftime. UMass was drilled 45-28 in the second half however and lost 77-67. Tops in scoring on the team was Matt Cross with 17 points and five rebounds.
La Salle Explorers
Over on the La Salle side, they were an even 8-8 after 16 games this year. The Explorers have since gone 3-5 as well with losses to Fordham, Saint Joseph’s, Saint Louis, Davidson and Rhode Island before wins over George Washington, Saint Joseph’s and St. Bonaventure.
In the St. Bonaventure matchup on Wednesday, the Explorers were up 44-35 at the break. La Salle was outscored 35-32 from there but hung on for the 76-70 win. Josh Nickelberry posted 18 points, and Khalil Brantley added 16 points.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’m going to stay with La Salle. This should be a pretty good matchup regardless, though. The Explorers are sitting on a three-game win streak and they’ve scored pretty well lately with 70 or more points in five of the last six. The last time these teams met up back on January 11 at Mullins Center, La Salle powered out a 78-77 comeback win thanks to a 40-33 run in the second half. The Explorers are looking pretty good over the last trio, and I like them to keep the run going with a cover/win here.
