Central Michigan Chippewas vs UMass Minutemen Prediction, 2/3/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Central Michigan Chippewas vs UMass Minutemen

Date: Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Location: Mullins Center in Amherst, MA

TV: ESPN+

The Central Michigan Chippewas (6-15) are en route to Mullins Center on Tuesday where they will go up against the UMass Minutemen (13-9).

The Central Michigan Chippewas took the court against Bowling Green and earned the victory with a final of 62-59 in their last game. When it comes to fouls, the Chippewas finished with 15 and Bowling Green totaled 18 fouls. They knocked down 4 of their 16 shots from three-point range. Bowling Green ended up going 58.3% from the free throw line by burying 7 of their 12 shots. On top of that, Bowling Green had 34 rebounds (8 offensive, 26 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Bowling Green doled out 8 dimes and had 10 steals in the matchup. Regarding the defense, Central Michigan allowed the other team to shoot 35.8% from the floor on 24 out of 67 shooting. They also doled out 13 dimes for this game as well as forcing 9 turnovers and getting 5 steals. In relation to rebounding, they compiled 39 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Chippewas made 7 of 15 shots for a rate of 46.7%. Central Michigan ended with a 43.3% FG percentage (26 of 60) and knocked down 3 out of their 16 shots from distance.

Keenan Garner is a player who was a major contributor in the game. He finished 63.6% from the floor and also distributed 2 assists. He was on the court for 31 minutes and also grabbed 14 rebounds. He finished with 18 points on 7 of 11 shooting.

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Central Michigan will enter this matchup with a mark of 6-15 for the year. They are turning it over 12.3 times per contest and as a team they are committing 18.0 personal fouls per game. As a unit, Central Michigan is pulling in 33.1 boards per game and has totaled 321 dimes for the year, which has them ranked 129th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Chippewas are hitting 30.0% from downtown (127 of 424) and 71.6% from the charity stripe. They average 72.9 points per outing (266th in D-1) while connecting on 45.3% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Chippewas are able to force 12.1 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.9 personal fouls. They are ranked 319th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 337 surrendered so far this season. The Chippewas defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 46.4% (569 of 1,225) and they surrender 36.5 boards per contest as a squad. They are conceding 34.1% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are ranked 298th in college hoops in opponents points per game (78.5).

In their last game, the UMass Minutemen got the win with a final of 70-67 when they played Eastern Michigan. Concerning rebounding, UMass permitted Eastern Michigan to snag 25 overall (5 offensive). They finished shooting 22.7% from downtown by going 5 out of 22 and ended up shooting 16 out of 18 at the free throw line (88.9%). The Minutemen permitted Eastern Michigan to knock down 23 out of 49 attempts from the floor which had them at 46.9% for this contest. When the final whistle blew, the Minutemen walked away from this one shooting 22 for 50 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.0%. When discussing three-point attempts, UMass buried 1 out of 13 tries (7.7%). They were able to knock down 25 of the free throws for a percentage of 71.4%. Eastern Michigan had 23 fouls in the matchup which took the Minutemen to the charity stripe for 35 tries. They turned the ball over 7 times, while earning 5 steals in this game. The Minutemen recorded 21 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 27 for this game.

Leonardo Bettiol ended up being a major contributor for the Minutemen for the contest. He had 20 points in his 31 mins on the court and had 2 dimes for the matchup. He knocked down 7 of 12 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 58.3%, and had 10 rebounds.

UMass has a mark of 13-9 for the campaign. The Minutemen are responsible for committing 20.8 personal fouls every game and they go 67.6% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 17.4 times per contest (35th in college) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.6 times per contest. UMass has accounted for 1,758 pts so far this year (79.9 per game) and they average 37.8 boards per game. As an offensive unit, the Minutemen are hitting on 46.4% from the field, which is 116th in Division 1.

The UMass defense gives up 29.5% on shots from beyond the arc (153 of 519) and opponents are converting on 71.2% of their shots from the charity stripe. They relinquish 14.4 dimes and 31.9 boards every game, which ranks them 260th and 48th in the country. The Minutemen defensively are ranked 214th in college hoops in PPG allowed with 74.7. They are forcing 12.9 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.4% from the floor (217th in college hoops).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Central Michigan

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