Bowling Green Falcons vs UMass Minutemen Prediction, 1/3/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Bowling Green Falcons vs UMass Minutemen

Date: Saturday, January 3, 2026

Location: Mullins Center in Amherst, MA

TV: ESPN+

The Bowling Green Falcons (10-4) are headed to Mullins Center on Saturday where they will take on the UMass Minutemen (9-5).

The Bowling Green Falcons took the court against Miami and went home with a loss by a final score of 93-83 in their last contest. In regard to fouls, the Falcons ended up finishing with 20 and Miami had 19 fouls. They also converted 11 of their 23 shots from beyond the arc. Miami finished the game shooting 91.7% from the free throw line by knocking down 22 of 24 attempts. Moreover, Miami pulled down 32 rebounds (7 offensive, 25 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Miami distributed 16 dimes and had 6 steals in this game. In regard to defense, Bowling Green allowed 54.5% from the floor on 30 out of 55 shooting. They also doled out 12 dimes for the game as well as forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and earning 11 steals. When it comes to pulling down rebounds, they earned 22 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Falcons made 16 of 23 shots for a rate of 69.6%. Bowling Green ended having earned a 49.2% field goal percentage (31 of 63) and knocked down 5 out of their 22 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Sam Towns is one player who was a factor in this game. He ended up shooting 60.0% from the field and also distributed 2 assists. He was on the hardwood for 38 minutes and also collected 6 rebounds. He ended up walking away with 24 points on 9 of 15 shooting.

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Bowling Green comes into this game with a win-loss mark of 10-4 for the year. They are averaging 88.2 pts per contest (33rd in Division 1) on 49.7% from the field. The Falcons are hitting 33.8% on shots from downtown (105 of 311) and 74.8% from the charity stripe. As a team, Bowling Green is grabbing 37.1 boards per game and is sitting with 233 assists this year, which has them ranked 63rd in college in terms of passing the rock. They cough up possession 11.9 times per game and as a team they are committing 17.9 personal fouls every game.

On the defensive end, the Falcons are able to force 19.1 turnovers every game and they draw 19.8 personal fouls. They rank 124th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 169 surrendered on the year. The Falcons are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 41.2% (308 of 747) and they relinquish 32.0 boards per contest as a team. They are giving up 32.1% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 44th in college hoops in points per game from their opponents (66.4).

For their last game, the UMass Minutemen went home defeated by a final of 80-74 when they played Eastern Michigan. In regard to how they attacked the glass, UMass allowed Eastern Michigan to collect 44 in all (9 offensive). They finished the game shooting 25.0% from behind the 3-point line by connecting on 3 of 12 and walked away from this one shooting 27 out of 39 at the charity stripe (69.2%). The Minutemen allowed Eastern Michigan to make 25 of their 55 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 45.5% in the game. When the game finished, the Minutemen went 28 out of 70 from the field which gave them a rate of 40.0%. Regarding shots from distance, UMass converted 6 of 25 tries (24.0%). They were able to knock down 12 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 66.7%. Eastern Michigan was called for 22 fouls in this matchup which got the Minutemen to the free throw line for a total of 18 shots. They gave up possession 7 times, while getting 6 steals in this game. The Minutemen corralled 26 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards for a total of 37 in the matchup.

Daniel Hankins-Sanford was important for the Minutemen in the game. He earned 18 points in his 34 minutes of playing time, but didn't get an assist. He converted 7 out of 15 for the contest giving him a rate of 46.7%, and had 11 rebounds.

UMass has a mark of 9-5 this season. When it comes to offense, the Minutemen are hitting on 45.6% from the field, which is 178th in college. UMass has accounted for 1,107 pts so far this season (79.1 per contest) and they pull in 39.2 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 17.8 times per contest (41st in college) and they lose possession via turnover 13.7 times per contest. The Minutemen have committed 20.8 fouls every game and they go 65.3% from the free throw line.

The UMass defense allows 25.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter (83 of 323) and opponents are converting on 71.8% of their shots from the free throw line. They have relinquished 13.2 dimes and 32.1 total rebounds per game, which is ranked 174th and 77th in the country. The Minutemen on defense are ranked 143rd in college hoops in PPG allowed with 71.4. They have forced 13.7 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 42.4% from the floor (130th in D-1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Bowling Green

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