The UMBC Retrievers and UMass Lowell River Hawks meet Wednesday in college basketball action at the Tsongas Center. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.
The UMBC Retrievers Preview
The UMBC Retrievers are averaging 77.8 points on 45.7 percent shooting and allowing 73.4 points on 45.3 percent shooting. Colton Lawrence is averaging 13.7 points and 3.8 rebounds, while Jacob Boonyasith is averaging 12 points and 3.4 rebounds. Matteo Picarelli is the third double-digit scorer and Dion Brown is grabbing 3.7 rebounds. The UMBC Retrievers are shooting 36.4 percent from beyond the arc and 76 percent from the free throw line. The UMBC Retrievers are allowing 39.8 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 31.9 rebounds per game.
The UMass Lowell River Hawks Preview
The UMass Lowell River Hawks are averaging 77.7 points on 48.8 percent shooting and allowing 65.1 points on 38.1 percent shooting. Everette Hammond is averaging 12.7 points and 5.4 rebounds, while Abdoul Karim Coulibaly is averaging 11.8 points and 8.1 rebounds. Ayinde Hikim is the third double-digit scorer and Yuri Covington is grabbing 2.7 rebounds. The UMass Lowell River Hawks are shooting 38.4 percent from beyond the arc and 70.2 percent from the free throw line. The UMass Lowell River Hawks are allowing 33.2 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 37.4 rebounds per game.
Trends
The Retrievers are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 road games and 4-0 ATS in their last 4 Wednesday games. The River Hawks are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 Wednesday games and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The under is 5-1 in Retrievers last 6 road games. The under is 5-2 in River Hawks last 7 Wednesday games. The underdog is 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings.
Randy’s Free Pick
It’s fair to say the UMass-Lowell River Hawks have been the more impressive team, and they’ve been ridiculous at home at both ends of the floor. UMass-Lowell wins at home by an average of 22.2 points. I’d need an extra bucket or two to consider UMBC. Give me the River Hawks and the reasonable chalk.