Eastern Michigan Eagles vs UMass Minutemen Prediction, 1/31/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Eastern Michigan Eagles vs UMass Minutemen

Date: Saturday, January 31, 2026

Location: Mullins Center in Amherst, MA

TV: ESPN+

The UMass Minutemen (13-9) will try to defeat the Eastern Michigan Eagles (9-12) at Mullins Center on Saturday.

The Eastern Michigan Eagles took the court against Central Michigan and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 100-65 in their last game. In the matter of fouls, the Eagles ended up with 21 while Central Michigan had 16 fouls. They knocked down 9 of their 19 attempts from three-point range. Central Michigan finished the contest at 73.1% at the free throw line by making 19 of their 26 tries. On top of that, Central Michigan collected 32 rebounds (9 offensive, 23 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Central Michigan earned 24 dimes and had 9 steals in the matchup. Pertaining to defense, Eastern Michigan allowed the other team to shoot 56.3% from the floor on 36 out of 64 shooting. They also doled out 9 assists in this game in addition to forcing the opposition into 8 turnovers and getting 1 steal. Pertaining to pulling down rebounds, they compiled 22 with 4 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Eagles made 14 of 21 attempts for a percentage of 66.7%. Eastern Michigan wrapped up the game with a 45.1% FG percentage (23 of 51) and knocked down 5 of their 19 3-point shots.

Mak Manciel is someone who played a role in this matchup. He finished the contest at 45.5% from the floor and earned 1 assist. He was on the court for 31 minutes and also pulled down 1 rebound. He was able to score 16 points on 5 of 11 shooting.

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Eastern Michigan enters this one with a win-loss mark of 9-12 this season. They are averaging 71.7 pts per game (290th in the nation) while shooting 44.5% from the field. The Eagles are hitting 32.9% on shots from downtown (129 of 392) and 71.9% from the free throw line. As a team, Eastern Michigan is pulling in 35.9 boards per game and has accumulated 276 assists so far this season, which ranks 244th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 11.9 times per contest and as a group they commit 17.8 fouls every game.

On the defensive end, the Eagles are forcing 12.1 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 17.1 personal fouls. They rank 183rd in the nation in allowing assists with 279 relinquished so far this year. The Eagles defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 44.4% (550 of 1,239) and they surrender 35.5 rebounds per contest as a team. They give up 33.3% on 3-point attempts and they are 171st in college hoops in points per game allowed (73.1).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the UMass Minutemen went home defeated by a final of 86-84 when they played Miami. The Minutemen corralled 21 defensive boards and 12 offensive boards totaling 33 in this matchup. They also coughed it up 10 times, while earning 5 steals for this game. Miami earned 16 fouls for this game which took the Minutemen to the charity stripe for a total of 17 tries. They were able to convert 13 of the free throws for a percentage of 76.5%. In relation to shots from beyond the arc, UMass knocked down 9 out of their 21 attempts (42.9%). When all was said and done, the Minutemen walked away from this one shooting 31 out of 61 from the floor which had them sitting at 50.8%. The Minutemen permitted Miami to convert 24 of their 51 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 47.1% in the matchup. They finished shooting 34.5% from distance by going 10 out of 29 and finished the contest at 28 of 38 from the charity stripe (73.7%). In relation to rebounds, UMass allowed Miami to snag 29 in all (10 on the offensive glass).

Leonardo Bettiol was important for the Minutemen in this game. He had 22 points in his 31 minutes on the court and earned 2 assists for the game. He made 7 out of 11 for this contest for a field goal rate of 63.6%, and accounted for 16 rebounds.

UMass has a win-loss record of 13-9 this season. The Minutemen have committed 20.8 fouls per contest and they connect on 67.6% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 17.4 times per game (38th in college hoops) and they turn it over 13.6 times per contest. UMass has scored 1,758 pts for the season (79.9 per contest) and they grab 37.8 boards per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Minutemen are shooting 46.4% from the field, which ranks them 121st in the nation.

The Minutemen defensively are ranked 214th in Division 1 in points given up per game with 74.7. They are forcing their opponents into 12.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 44.4% from the field (219th in the country). The UMass defense allows 29.5% from downtown (153 of 519) and their opponents are making 71.2% of their shots from the free throw line. They have given up 14.4 dimes and 31.9 rebounds every game, which ranks 259th and 48th in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Eastern Michigan

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