UMBC Retrievers (11-20) vs. UMass-Lowell River Hawks (20-9)
March 9, 2024 3:00 pm EDT
The Line: UMass-Lowell River Hawks -8.5; Over/Under: -
(Get latest betting odds)
The UMBC Retrievers and the UMass Lowell River Hawks meet Saturday in America East Tournament college basketball action from Costello Athletic Center. Let’s get into our UMBC vs. UMass Lowell prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
UMBC Retrievers
The Retrievers stumbled to a rough 7-18 start over their first 25 games this year. That run included a 2-13 stretch along the way. UMBC is 4-2 in their last six games though, taking out Binghamton, Albany, New Hampshire and NJIT alongside losses to Maine and Binghamton.
In the Binghamton rematch on Tuesday, the Retrievers fell back into the L column again. UMBC came out of the break with a 40-37 edge, but eventually lost it in a 72-71 defeat. Dion Brown was the team’s top scorer in the loss with his 24 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
UMass Lowell River Hawks
Over on the Rivers Hawks’ side, they managed a 14-4 run through their first 18 games, but then hit a sketchy 2-3 stretch in February. UMass Lowell would beat Bryant, Binghamton, Albany and Bryant again in the next four before losses to Vermont and Maine.
On Tuesday versus Maine on the road, the River Hawks put up a pretty flat effort with a 37-33 first-half deficit. UMass Lowell didn’t get any closer on a 34-32 run the rest of the way and lost 71-65 in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Cam Morris on 22 points and 10 boards.
ANDREW’S FREE UMBC VS UMASS LOWELL PREDICTION
I’m going to lean toward UMass Lowell in this one. The River Hawks need a good bounce-back outing after a couple of relative duds, though. In the Maine loss, UMass Lowell shot a rough 32.3 percent from the field with a 45-43 rebounding deficit and 13 turnovers for 17 Black Bears points. The River Hawks have scored less than 66 points in consecutive outings now.
The good news for UMass Lowell is that they’ve won both meetings between these teams this season. In the 93-80 road win over UMBC on February 8, the River Hawks posted a nice 52.3 percent shooting with 42 rebounds and 13 team assists. Provided UMass Lowell can get back to that kind of offensive rhythm (and avoid the excessive turnovers), they should be fine.
