UMass Minutemen vs La Salle Explorers Prediction, 12/16/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: UMass Minutemen vs La Salle Explorers

Date: Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Location: Tom Gola Arena in Philadelphia, PA

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: UMass (-2)

The La Salle Explorers (2-3) host the UMass Minutemen (1-1) at Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday. The line on this game has UMass as 2-point favorites. The over/under opens at 141.5.

UMass enters this matchup with a record of 1-1 on the campaign. They currently have an average of 84.5 points per contest (44th in D-1) while shooting 46.2% from the floor. The Minutemen are shooting 37.2% on three-point shots (16 of 43) and 68.8% from the free throw line. As a unit, UMass is collecting 33.5 boards per game and has 24 dimes on the season, which has them ranked 301st in college hoops in terms of passing. They cough up possession 12.0 times per game and as a basketball team they commit 22.0 personal fouls on a nightly basis. When they are on the defensive end, the Minutemen are able to force 16.0 turnovers every game while drawing 22.0 personal fouls. The Minutemen defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 48.5% (50 of 103) and they concede 34.0 boards per contest as a unit. They currently rank 37th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 31 relinquished so far this season. They are giving up 35.3% on 3-pointers and they rank 273rd in college basketball in points per game allowed (78.5).

The UMass Minutemen played the Northeastern Huskies and took a loss by a final of 78-75 in their last contest. UMass finished the game having earned a 41.9% field goal percentage (26 of 62) and converted 7 of their 20 3-point shots. When they shot from the free throw line, the Minutemen buried 16 of their 21 shots for a percentage of 76.2%. Pertaining to rebounding, they earned 33 with 5 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 8 dimes in this game while having 9 steals and 2 blocks. In regard to defense, UMass let their opponent shoot 41.9% from the field on 26 out of 62. Northeastern dished out 19 dimes and 7 steals for the matchup. In addition, the Huskies pulled down 33 rebounds (5 offensive, 28 defensive) and added 2 blocks. Northeastern finished 76.7% from the charity stripe by making 23 of 30 tries. They also converted 7 of their 21 tries from downtown.

Javohn Garcia is a guy who was important in the matchup. He accumulated 18 points on 6 out of 11 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 35 minutes played and pulled down 4 boards. Garcia ended up going 54.5% from the field and also dished out 3 assists. Someone else that saw a lot of minutes in this game for the Minutemen was Ronnie DegrayI. He collected 5 rebounds and accounted for 2 assists. He finished shooting 80.0% from the floor for the matchup by shooting 4-of-5 (12 points). When all was said and done, DegrayI was on the hardwood for 32 minutes.

La Salle has a record of 2-3 so far this season. The Explorers are responsible for committing 17.2 fouls per game while shooting 68.7% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 13.2 times per contest (191st in the nation) and they turn the ball over 16.2 times per game. La Salle has totaled 313 pts for the year (62.6 per contest) and they pull in 34.6 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Explorers are shooting 41.8% from the floor, which is ranked 275th in college basketball. The Explorers on defense are ranked 67th in the nation in PPG given up with 63.4. The La Salle defense surrenders 26.7% on 3-point shots (28 of 105) and opponents are connecting on 76.0% of their shots from the charity stripe. They surrender 12.6 assists and 37.2 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 155th and 221st in those categories on the defensive end. They are forcing 15.0 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 39.9% from the field (93rd in D-1).

In their last game, the La Salle Explorers took home the win by a final score of 58-48 when they played the Drexel Dragons. The Explorers were able to pull down 24 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards for a total of 31 for the matchup. They also blocked 5 tries while getting 5 steals in this game. The Dragons earned 11 fouls in this contest which took the Explorers to the free throw line for 6 attempts. They were able to knock down 5 of them for a rate of 83.3%. When discussing shots from distance, La Salle converted 5 out of their 10 tries (50.0%). When all was said and done, the Explorers shot 24 for 52 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.2%. The Explorers permitted the Dragons to knock down 18 out of 54 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 33.3% in the matchup. They finished the game shooting 15.0% from distance by going 3 of 20 and finished the game at 9 out of 13 at the free throw line (69.2%). When it comes to how they attacked the glass, La Salle allowed Drexel to pull down 30 in total (8 on the offensive side).

Jhamir Brickus played big minutes for the Explorers for the game. He converted 3 of 6 for the contest for a field goal rate of 50.0%, which had him finishing with 8 points. Brickus had 2 rebounds in his 24 mins and totaled 4 dimes in the game. Someone else who saw a lot of court time for La Salle was David Beatty. He notched 11 points in 26 minutes on the hardwood by going 4 of 6 from the floor in this contest. Beatty finished going 66.7% from the floor in addition to contributing 3 assists and 2 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UMass (-2)

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