Bryant Bulldogs vs UMBC Retrievers Prediction, 2/26/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Bryant Bulldogs vs UMBC Retrievers

Date: Thursday, February 26, 2026

Location: Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore, MD

TV: ESPN+

The Bryant Bulldogs (8-19) are on their way to Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena on Thursday where they will take on the UMBC Retrievers (18-8).

The Bryant Bulldogs stepped onto the hardwood against Binghamton and took a loss by a score of 79-67 in their last contest. Regarding personal fouls, the Bulldogs walked away with 17 and Binghamton finished the game with 13 personal fouls. They also converted 6 of 11 attempts from downtown. Binghamton finished the game at 91.3% from the free throw line by knocking down 21 of their 23 shots. In addition, Binghamton snagged 20 boards (4 offensive, 16 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Binghamton dished out 12 dimes and had 8 steals in this game. With regard to defense, Bryant allowed their opponent to shoot 59.1% from the field on 26 out of 44 shooting. They also doled out 9 assists for this game while forcing 10 turnovers and having 8 steals. Concerning pulling down boards, they collected a total of 28 with 15 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Bulldogs buried 10 of 11 tries for a percentage of 90.9%. Bryant ended having earned a 39.3% field goal percentage (24 out of 61) and knocked down 9 out of their 33 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Ty Tabales is one player who came through for the matchup. He finished the game at 47.1% from the field and also totaled 2 dimes. He played 34 mins and also pulled down 3 rebounds. He ended up walking away with 21 points on 8 out of 17 shooting.

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Bryant heads into this one with a win-loss record of 8-19 for the year. They turn it over 13.3 times per contest and as a unit they commit 16.3 personal fouls per game. As a unit, Bryant is grabbing 33.7 rebounds per game and is sitting with 330 assists so far this year, which ranks 323rd in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Bulldogs are shooting 29.7% on 3-point shots (214 of 720) and 74.8% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 64.6 pts per game (356th in Division 1) while hitting 40.2% from the field.

On defense, the Bulldogs have forced 9.9 turnovers per game while drawing 15.2 fouls. They rank 184th in the country in giving up assists with 373 conceded on the season. The Bulldogs are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 45.2% (700 of 1,550) and they surrender 35.1 rebounds per contest as a team. They are conceding 36.2% on shots from distance and they are ranked 139th in Division 1 in opponents points per game (72.6).

When they last stepped on the court, the UMBC Retrievers took home the win by a final score of 66-62 against Albany. The Retrievers were able to snag 19 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards for a total of 28 for the contest. They turned it over 6 times, while getting 6 steals in this game. Albany committed 14 personal fouls in this contest which took the Retrievers to the free throw line for a total of 13 attempts. They were able to knock down 10 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 76.9%. When it comes to shooting from beyond the arc, UMBC buried 8 of their 20 tries (40.0%). At the conclusion of this game, the Retrievers finished shooting 24 for 57 from the field which gave them a percentage of 42.1%. The Retrievers permitted Albany to convert 26 of 50 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 52.0% for the contest. They went 41.2% from 3-point land by going 7 of 17 and ended up shooting 3 of 4 at the charity stripe (75.0%). In relation to how they cleaned up the glass, UMBC permitted Albany to snag 25 in total (3 offensive).

Ace Valentine ended up being a major contributor for the Retrievers in the matchup. He totaled 14 points in his 35 minutes of playing time and tallied 5 assists in this game. He knocked down 4 of 11 in this game for a field goal percentage of 36.4%, and had 3 rebounds.

UMBC has a mark of 18-8 on the year. As an offense, the Retrievers are hitting on 46.2% from the floor, which is ranked 133rd in college. UMBC has scored 1,945 points so far this year (74.8 per contest) and they grab 35.1 boards per game. They are getting an assist 12.5 times per contest (286th in college) and they cough up possession 9.8 times per game. The Retrievers commit 13.5 fouls every game and they shoot 74.9% from the free throw line.

The Retrievers are ranked 47th in college in PPG given up with 68.3. They have forced 10.3 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.3% from the field (126th in college). The UMBC defense allows 32.1% on shots from 3-point land (177 of 551) and opponents are connecting on 68.1% of their free throw attempts. They have relinquished 11.0 dimes and 33.7 boards every game, which is 27th and 135th in college hoops.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UMBC

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