Buffalo Bulls vs UMBC Retrievers Prediction, 12/9/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Buffalo Bulls vs UMBC Retrievers

Date: Tuesday, December 9, 2025

Location: Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore, MD

TV: ESPN+

The UMBC Retrievers (6-3) are welcoming the Buffalo Bulls (8-1) at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena on Tuesday.

The Buffalo Bulls stepped onto the hardwood against St. Bonaventure and ended up losing by a score of 77-69 in their last contest. Buffalo ended the game having earned a 54.0% field goal percentage (27 out of 50) and converted 8 of their 21 three-point attempts. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Bulls converted 7 of 11 shots for a percentage of 63.6%. In terms of grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 20 with 4 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 14 dimes in this contest as well as forcing 15 turnovers and earning 6 steals. Concerning defending, Buffalo allowed 46.7% from the field on 28 out of 60 shooting. St. Bonaventure distributed 20 assists and had 13 steals for the matchup. Additionally, St. Bonaventure pulled down 31 boards (13 offensive, 18 defensive), but didn't notch a block. St. Bonaventure ended up going 85.7% when shooting free throws by knocking down 12 of 14 shots. They also knocked down 9 out of their 24 tries from downtown. In the matter of personal fouls, the Bulls ended up finishing with 14 and St. Bonaventure racked up 14 personal fouls.

Ryan Sabol is someone who was important in this game. He ended up shooting 53.3% from the field and also earned 2 assists. He saw the court for 36 minutes but didn't pull down any rebounds. He ended up finishing with 21 points on 8 of 15 shooting.

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Buffalo enters this one with a mark of 8-1 so far this season. They are turning it over 10.4 times per game and as a squad they commit 17.2 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Buffalo is pulling down 30.7 rebounds per game and has racked up 116 assists on the campaign, which is 298th in D-1 in terms of passing. The Bulls are hitting 38.2% on shots from 3-point land (81 of 212) and 74.1% from the free throw line. They are averaging 77.7 pts per game (179th in Division 1) on 46.8% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Bulls have forced 13.2 turnovers per game and they draw 20.6 fouls. They are conceding 33.6% on 3-pointers while they are 123rd in college in PPG allowed (70.3). The Bulls defensively are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 45.1% (221 of 490) and they relinquish 32.3 rebounds per game as a team. They rank 241st in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 135 conceded on the year.

For their last game, the UMBC Retrievers got the victory with a final of 73-66 against Bucknell. With respect to rebounding, UMBC permitted Bucknell to grab 31 in all (12 on the offensive glass). They finished shooting 25.0% from 3-point land by shooting 6 out of 24 and walked away from this one shooting 12 out of 17 from the free throw line (70.6%). The Retrievers permitted Bucknell to convert 24 of their 61 attempts from the field which had them shooting 39.3% for the game. When this game wrapped up, the Retrievers finished the game shooting 27 out of 52 from the floor which gave them a rate of 51.9%. Pertaining to shots from distance, UMBC made 7 of 18 attempts (38.9%). They were able to knock down 12 of the free throw tries for a rate of 80.0%. Bucknell had 16 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Retrievers to the free throw line for a total of 15 attempts. They also coughed up the ball 11 times, while getting 3 steals in this matchup. The Retrievers were able to snag 25 defensive rebounds and 5 offensive rebounds totaling 30 in this contest.

Jah'Likai King pitched in for the Retrievers for this game. He racked up 20 points in his 32 minutes on the court and added 2 dimes for this contest. He made 6 of 11 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 54.5%, and accounted for 2 rebounds.

UMBC has a win-loss record of 6-3 for the campaign. The Retrievers are committing 12.9 fouls per contest and they go 71.2% from the charity stripe. Their rate of earning assists is at 14.0 times per contest (211th in Division 1) and they are turning it over 13.3 times per contest. UMBC has accounted for 676 pts on the year (75.1 per game) and they pull down 37.1 boards per contest. When it comes to offense, the Retrievers are connecting on 46.8% from the floor, which is 120th in college hoops.

The UMBC defense allows 31.2% on shots from behind the 3-point line (53 of 170) and their opposition knocks down 71.5% of their free throw attempts. They relinquish 11.0 dimes and 33.9 total rebounds per game, which is 52nd and 147th in college hoops. The Retrievers on defense are ranked 123rd in D-1 in points given up per game with 70.3. They are forcing 10.2 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 43.2% from the floor (175th in Division 1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UMBC

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