NJIT vs Maine 1/2/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Maine Black Bears will travel to the NJIT Wellness and Events Center to take on the NJIT Highlanders this Sunday afternoon in College Basketball action.

The Maine Black Bears lost their 2^nd straight game and dropped to 3-8 on the season after being defeated by the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 80-64, this past Thursday. Maine had no answers on the defensive end for Rutgers and could not fight back after going into halftime trailing by a 42-30 margin. Maine shot 425.1% from the field & 40.9% from beyond the arc while allowing Rutgers to shoot 52.9% from the field & 50.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Black Bears was LeChaun DuHart who had 22 points, 4 rebounds, & 3 assits.

On the season, Maine is averaging 58.5 ppg on 39.1% shooting from the field. The Black Bears are averaging 5.5 three-pointers per game on 25.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Maine has been led by LeChaun DuHart (8.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.2 apg), Vukasin Masic (8.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.7 apg), Chris Efretuei (5.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg), & Adefolalrin Adetogun (5.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.1 spg).

Defensively, Maine is allowing their opponents to average 66.5 ppg on 45.0% shooting from the field. The Black Bears have a rebound margin of -2.1 and a turnover margin of -0.1.

The NJIT Highlanders lost their 2^nd straight game and dropped to 5-5 on the season after being defeated by the Northwestern Wildcats, 70-52, on December 12^th. NJIT had no answers offensively for the tough Northwestern defense and could not fight back after the Wildcats took a 49-26 lead with 12:09 left in regulation. NJIT shot 29.1% from the field & 39.3% from beyond the are while allowing Northwestern to shoot 43.5% from the field & 25.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Highlanders was Miles Coleman who had 20 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, & 1 steal.

On the season, NJIT is averaging 66.0 ppg on 39.0% shooting from the field. The Highlanders are averaging 7.3 three-pointers per game on 32.9% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, NJIT has been led by Dylan O’Hearn (17.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.3 apg), Miles Coleman (14.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.5 spg), James Lee (8.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.3 apg, 2.3 spg), & Antwuan Butler (6.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.3 spg).

Defensively, NJITis allowing their opponents to average 65.8 ppg on 38.9% shooting from the field. The Highlanders have a rebound margin of -2.0 and a turnover margin of 0.3.

The Black Bears are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 road games & just 2-9-1 ATS in their last 12 Sunday games. The Highlanders are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up loss & 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400.

Maine has been led by their defense which ranks t-131^st in scoring defense & 54^th in steals per game, however, the Black Bears offense has really struggled as they come into this game ranked just 344^th in scoring offense. NJIT has also been led by their defense which ranks 110^th in scoring defense & 34^th in defensive FG% and like Maine, have had trouble generating offense as the Highlanders rank just 333^rd in FG%.

NJIT is no doubt the better team here, however, this is a team that hasn’t played in about three weeks, and I expect the Highlanders to struggle a bit on the offensive end in this one. Maine is not a very good team, however, however, they like to slow down games and as I think the Black Bears can keep this one within 10 points, I’m taking Maine and the points. Good Luck!