UMBC vs Vermont 1/1/23 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Vermont Catamounts and the UMBC Retrievers meet Sunday in college basketball action from Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. Vermont enters this one at 6-8 overall. The Catamounts lost to Toledo in their last appearance. As for UMBC, they’re 9-5 on the season and fresh off a loss to Maryland. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place. 

Vermont went just 1-5 to start out the season, taking a lone win over Brown. The Catamounts are 5-3 since then however, beating Ball State, Lyndon State, Merrimack Dartmouth and Colgate with losses to UNCW, LBSU and Toledo. 

In the Toledo game way back on December 20, the Catamounts were drilled 42-28 in the first half. Vermont scored 44 points from there but still lost 84-72. Dylan Penn led the team on 20 points with two rebounds. 

Over on the UMBC side, they hit a 3-3 run in their first six games with losses to Tulane, Princeton and UNCG. UMBC is 6-2 since then with wins over Coppin State, Lehigh, Columbia, Morgan State, Loyola MD and William & Mary. 

Last Thursday versus Maryland, UMBC was within three points at halftime. The Retrievers were outscored 47-34 in the second half and lost 80-64. Both Craig Beaudion and Jarvis Doles scored 14 points apiece.

PICK: I’ll probably try UMBC here. The Retrievers did pretty well in the first half versus a good Maryland team in their last outing but eventually shot just 35.9 percent from the field. That game also broke a string of 70-plus points performances that had lasted for 10 games. As for Vermont, It’s been a long time since they’ve been on the court, but they’ve hit 68 or more points in four of their last five games. I like this one to be a high-scoring affair with UMBC powering out a cover.