UMass Minutemen vs Saint Louis Billikens Prediction, 3/1/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: UMass Minutemen vs Saint Louis Billikens

Date: Monday, March 1, 2021

Location: Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, MO

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: UMass (+9.5)

The Saint Louis Billikens (12-5) host the UMass Minutemen (7-5) at Chaifetz Arena on Monday. Saint Louis opens this contest as 9.5-point favorites. The over/under is set at 146.5.

UMass will enter this contest with a mark of 7-5 for the campaign. The Minutemen are connecting on 31.9% on three-point shots (103 of 323) and 73.6% from the free throw line. They average 76.8 points per game (61st in the country) while hitting 41.6% from the floor. They turn it over 12.3 times per game and as a unit are committing 17.8 fouls per contest. As a team, UMass is grabbing 35.4 rebounds per game and is sitting with 184 assists on the year, which is 316th in the country in terms of passing the rock. When they are on defense, the Minutemen are able to force 15.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 19.7 fouls. They are currently ranked 28th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 183 surrendered on the campaign. The Minutemen defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 46.3% (321 of 694) and they concede 37.0 boards per game as a basketball team. They relinquish 33.2% on three-point shots and they are ranked 230th in D-1 in points per game from their opponents (72.1).

The UMass Minutemen faced off with the Richmond Spiders and took a loss by a score of 79-65 in their last contest. UMass finished the game with a 43.6% field goal percentage (24 out of 55) and buried 7 out of their 27 3-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Minutemen buried 10 of their 15 tries for a rate of 66.7%. In the matter of grabbing rebounds, they earned 30 with 5 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 11 dimes in this matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 6 turnovers and earning 2 steals. When discussing defending, UMass allowed the other team to go 47.5% from the floor on 28 out of 59 shooting. Richmond recorded 17 dimes and had 7 steals in the game. On top of that, Richmond snagged 32 rebounds (5 offensive, 27 defensive) and added 3 blocked shots. Richmond ended up going 66.7% at the free throw line by converting 16 of 24 tries. They made 7 out of their 0 attempts from 3-point land.

T.J. Weeks is a guy who came through in the matchup. He accounted for 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting. He saw the court for 31 minutes played and pulled down 5 boards. Weeks went 55.6% from the floor but didn't record a dime. An additional guy that was a contributor in this matchup for the Minutemen was Javohn Garcia. He pulled down 4 rebounds in his 29 minutes on the court. He ended up going 50.0% from the floor for this game by going 4-of-8 (10 points). In all, Garcia had 4 assists.

Saint Louis has a win-loss mark of 12-5 for the season. The Billikens commit 17.3 fouls every game and they connect on 68.8% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 17.9 times per game (10th in Division 1) and they are turning it over 12.0 times per contest. Saint Louis has tallied 1,290 points this year (75.9 per contest) and they grab 39.2 boards per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Billikens are hitting on 46.5% from the field, which has them ranked 68th in the country. The Billikens on the defensive end are ranked 46th in college hoops in points per game surrendered with 64.7. The Saint Louis defense surrenders 34.0% on shots from distance (118 of 347) and their opposition makes 71.4% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 11.3 assists and 29.9 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 60th and 17th in those defensive categories. They are forcing 13.8 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 41.0% from the floor (56th in college basketball).

The last time they took the court, the Saint Louis Billikens took home the win by a final score of 72-67 when they played the Richmond Spiders. The Billikens collected 29 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive rebounds totaling 41 in this contest. They also coughed up the ball 13 times, while earning 4 steals for the matchup. The Spiders were called for 15 fouls for this contest which got the Billikens to the free throw line for 19 attempts. They were able to make 10 of the free throw tries for a rate of 52.6%. In reference to shooting from 3-point land, Saint Louis converted 6 out of 11 attempts (54.5%). Overall, the Billikens walked away from this one shooting 28 for 54 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 51.9%. The Billikens allowed the Spiders to make 23 of 52 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 44.2% for the contest. They finished 50.0% from downtown by shooting 10 of 20 and finished the game at 11 of 17 from the charity stripe (64.7%). In relation to rebounding, Saint Louis permitted Richmond to grab 18 in total (2 on the offensive glass).

Javonte Perkins was important for the Billikens for the game. He made 5 of 10 in this game giving him a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and had 7 rebounds. Perkins earned 15 points in his 31 minutes on the court and earned 2 dimes for the game. An additional guy that ended being a contributor for Saint Louis was Hasahn French. He finished this one with 3 dimes in his 26 mins on the court, and he put in 6 of 13 from the floor. French ended up shooting 46.2% from the field in addition to collecting 15 points and 9 rebounds.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Saint Louis (-9.5) and over 146.5 points

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