UMBC vs Albany 1/19/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Albany Great Danes and the UMBC Retrievers meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. Albany is currently 6-10 and coming off a win over NJIT. As for UMBC, they’re 6-9 this year and lost to Stony Brook in their last appearance. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Albany started out the year on an ugly 1-7 skid. The Danes beat only Eastern Illinois in that stretch. It’s been a 5-3 run since then for Albany. They’ve taken out Columbia, Boston College, Lehigh, UMass Lowell and NJIT during that time. 

In the NJIT game back on Saturday, Albany posted 31 points in the first half and 40 more in the second in a 71-56 win. The Great Danes’ top scorer was Matt Cerruti with 18 points and eight rebounds. Jamel Horton added 14 points and eight boards. 

Over on the UMBC side, their year started out pretty well on a 5-2 clip. The Retrievers have gone 1-7 since then. The losses have come versus Delaware, Georgetown, Princeton, UNC Greensboro, UMass Lowell, Vermont and Stony Brook. 

In the Stony Brook game, the Retrievers were within three points at the break. UMBC was outscored 36-25 from there in a 65-51 defeat. The team’s only double-digit scorer was Yaw Obeng-Mensah with 10 points and six rebounds. 

UMBC is 1-7 ATS in their last eight overall and 1-5 ATS in the last six after an ATS loss. The over is 5-2 in the Retrievers’ last seven at home. 

Meanwhile, Albany is 1-5 ATS in their last six Wednesday games and 4-1 ATS in their last five overall. The Danes are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 after an ATS win.

PICK: I’m going to stick with Albany. The Danes haven’t exactly been scoring dynamos during this 5-3 run. They’ve hit more than 68 points in just two of those eight games. That said, Albany is generally keeping a good defensive lid on comparable opponents lately. If the Danes are on point, UMBC shouldn’t provide a huge threat offensively. I think Albany is in line for the cover here.