The Hartford Hawks and the UNLV Rebels meet Saturday in college basketball action from Michelob Ultra Arena. Hartford is sitting at 1-7 so far. The Hawks got their first win in their most recent game versus St. Francis-BK. As for the Rebels, they’re 5-5 and coming off a win over Seattle. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Hartford hit the skids out of the gate with seven straight losses to Wagner, Campbell, Army, Boston U, Merrimack, App State and Winthrop. The Hawks finally got a W in their last outing versus St. Francis-Brooklyn, though.
In the Terriers game, Hartford posted a 35-25 edge after the first half and kept the pressure on from there in a solid 68-55 victory. The Hawks’ leading scorer was Austin Williams with 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Over on the UNLV side, they went 4-2 over their first six games, taking out Gardner-Webb, California, North Dakota State and Whittier along the way. After losses to UCLA, SMU and San Francisco the Rebels got another win over Seattle.
On Wednesday in the Seattle matchup, the Rebels notched a six-point advantage by the break and finished off with 40 more points in a 76-56 blowout win. Michael Nuga led the way with 21 points, eight assists and 5-of-9 on 3-point shooting.
The Rebels are 4-10 ATS in their last 14 home games and 7-19 ATS in their last 26 overall. UNLV is 0-5 ATS in their last five Saturday games.
Meanwhile, the Hawks are 5-2 ATS in their last seven Saturday games and 6-1 ATS in their last seven after an ATS win. The over is 5-2-1 in Hartford’s last eight overall.
PICK: I’m probably going to stay with UNLV but not going near it. The Rebels didn’t have much trouble against Seattle in their last game, cruising with 54.5 percent shooting from the field, 11-of-27 (40.7 percent) from 3-point range, 42 rebounds and 24 team assists. It was a nice bounce back after a trio of bad games against tough opponents.
As for Hartford, they’ve had a few good scoring outings this year (in losses) but overall have been choppy when it comes to putting up points. I like the Rebels to keep the Hawks at bay here, but it’s probably not one to mess with.