George Washington Colonials vs UMass Minutemen Prediction, 1/20/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: George Washington Colonials vs UMass Minutemen

Date: Saturday, January 20, 2024

Location: William D. Mullins Memorial Center in Amherst, MA

TV: ESPN+

The UMass Minutemen (11-6) will play the George Washington Colonials (14-3) at William D. Mullins Memorial Center on Saturday.

The George Washington Colonials faced off with George Mason and notched a win by a score of 75-62 in their last contest. Concerning fouls, the Colonials finished with 13 and George Mason recorded 17 fouls. They also made 5 of 23 tries from distance. George Mason finished 86.7% when shooting free throws by making 13 of 15 tries. In addition, George Mason pulled down 32 rebounds (11 offensive, 21 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. George Mason recorded 12 dimes and had 12 steals for the matchup. When talking about defense, George Washington allowed the other team to go 32.8% from the floor on 22 out of 67 shooting. They also doled out 11 dimes in this matchup in addition to forcing 11 turnovers and earning 4 steals. When talking about grabbing rebounds, they compiled 39 with 10 of them being of the offensive variety. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Colonials converted 21 of their 24 attempts for a percentage of 87.5%. George Washington finished the game with a 42.6% FG percentage (23 of 54) and buried 8 of their 21 3-point attempts.

Darren Buchanan is one player who was important in the matchup. He ended up shooting 69.2% from the field and earned 3 dimes. He was on the hardwood for 30 minutes and grabbed 9 rebounds. He accounted for 21 points on 9 of 13 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Basketball Picks Tonight

George Washington comes into this one with a record of 14-3 on the year. They turn it over 14.4 times per contest and as a team they are committing 14.1 personal fouls per game. As a unit, George Washington is pulling down 39.8 rebounds per game and is sitting with 229 assists this year, which ranks 201st in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Colonials are hitting 39.0% on shots beyond the perimeter (159 of 408) and 73.9% from the charity stripe. They average 82.7 points per game (28th in the nation) while connecting on 46.9% from the field.

On defense, the Colonials are forcing 11.8 turnovers every game and they draw 17.9 fouls. They are relinquishing 31.4% on 3-point shots and they rank 277th in D-1 in opponents PPG (75.2). The Colonials are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 39.3% (477 of 1,214) and they relinquish 38.9 boards per contest as a group. They currently rank 214th in Division 1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 227 conceded so far this season.

The last time they took the court, the UMass Minutemen took a loss by a final score of 79-78 against Loyola. Concerning cleaning the glass, UMass allowed Loyola to grab 32 overall (12 offensive). They finished 28.6% from beyond the arc by connecting on 6 out of 21 and ended up going 21 of 31 at the free throw line (67.7%). The Minutemen allowed Loyola to knock down 26 of 56 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 46.4% in this matchup. When the game finished, the Minutemen walked away from this one shooting 24 out of 58 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.4%. Pertaining to shooting from beyond the arc, UMass converted 8 out of their 20 tries (40.0%). They were able to make 22 of the free throws for a rate of 71.0%. Loyola was called for 24 personal fouls for this contest which got the Minutemen to the free throw line for 31 tries. They gave up possession 10 times, while recording 7 steals for this contest. The Minutemen were able to corral 18 defensive boards and 13 offensive boards totaling 31 for the matchup.

Josh Cohen was important for the Minutemen for the matchup. He racked up 28 points in his 36 mins of playing time and tallied 1 assist in this game. He converted 8 of 12 for the matchup for a rate of 66.7%, and added 8 rebounds.

UMass has a mark of 11-6 on the year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Minutemen are shooting 46.0% from the field, which ranks 126th in college basketball. UMass has accounted for 1,385 points on the season (81.5 per game) and they grab 38.9 boards per contest. They are getting an assist 16.3 times per game (35th in the country) and they turn it over 10.8 times per contest. The Minutemen are committing 20.2 fouls per game and they go 68.8% from the free throw line.

The UMass defense surrenders 32.9% on shots from distance (125 of 380) and opponents are knocking down 71.4% of their free throw shots. They give up 12.6 assists and 35.1 total boards per game, which ranks them 168th and 191st in those categories on the defensive end. The Minutemen are ranked 194th in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 71.9. They are forcing their opponents into 14.5 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 41.6% from the field (99th in college hoops).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UMass

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here