Maine Black Bears vs Providence Friars Prediction, 11/2/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Maine Black Bears vs Providence Friars

Date: Monday, November 2, 2026

Location: Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, RI

TV: ESPN+

The Providence Friars (15-18 last season) will try to beat the Maine Black Bears (8-24 last year) at Amica Mutual Pavilion on Monday.

The Maine Black Bears stepped onto the hardwood against NJIT and ended up losing by a score of 60-58 in their last contest. In relation to personal fouls, the Black Bears ended up finishing with 15 and NJIT recorded 21 personal fouls. They also knocked down 5 of 19 tries from beyond the perimeter. NJIT finished 69.2% at the charity stripe by knocking down 9 of their 13 shots. On top of that, NJIT pulled down 31 rebounds (5 offensive, 26 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. NJIT doled out 10 dimes and had 8 steals for the game. With regard to defense, Maine allowed their opponent to shoot 46.0% from the floor on 23 of 50 shooting. They also doled out 14 dimes for this game while forcing 16 turnovers and having 9 steals. Regarding pulling down rebounds, they collected a total of 25 with 3 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the Black Bears converted 13 of 20 attempts for a rate of 65.0%. Maine walked away from the game with a 42.6% FG percentage (20 of 47) and made 5 out of their 14 three-point shots.

Ace Flagg is a player who was a factor for the contest. He finished 55.6% from the floor and totaled 1 assist. He played 34 minutes and snagged 8 rebounds. He walked away with 14 points on 5 out of 9 shooting.

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Maine heads into this contest after finishing with a record of 8-24 last season. They lost possession by turning the ball over 12.4 times per contest and as a group committed 16.6 personal fouls per game. As a squad, Maine pulled down 28.0 rebounds per game and earned 393 assists last season, which was 300th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. The Black Bears shot 31.9% on shots from beyond the arc (191 of 599) and 64.1% from the charity stripe. They averaged 62.5 pts per game (363rd in the country) while going 44.5% from the field.

On defense, the Black Bears forced their opponents into 13.0 turnovers every game while drawing 17.1 personal fouls. They gave up 29.6% from beyond the arc while they were 44th in D-1 in PPG allowed (68.4). The Black Bears defensively gave up a FG percentage of 45.0% (795 of 1,766) and they conceded 36.8 boards per game as a team. They were ranked 118th in the country in giving up assists to the opposition with 417 conceded last year.

In their last game, the Providence Friars took a defeat with a final score of 85-72 when they played St. John's. When discussing how they attacked the glass, Providence allowed St. John's to collect 47 in all (17 offensive). They finished shooting 25.9% from distance by shooting 7 of 27 and finished the contest at 12 of 17 at the free throw line (70.6%). The Friars allowed St. John's to convert 33 of 77 attempts from the field which had them shooting 42.9% for this contest. At the conclusion of this game, the Friars finished 25 out of 56 from the floor which had them shooting 44.6%. With regard to shooting from 3-point land, Providence made 5 out of their 14 tries (35.7%). They were able to make 17 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 68.0%. St. John's was called for 19 fouls in the matchup which took the Friars to the free throw line for 25 shots. They also coughed it up 9 times, while earning 5 steals in this game. The Friars were able to corral 26 defensive rebounds and 3 offensive rebounds for a total of 29 for the game.

Stefan Vaaks ended up being a major contributor for the Friars for the contest. He made 7 of 12 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 58.3%, and accumulated 5 rebounds. He earned 23 points in his 36 minutes on the hardwood and tallied 1 assist in this game.

Providence had a win-loss mark of 15-18 last year. The Friars committed 18.4 fouls per game and they connected on 75.7% from the charity stripe. Their rate of dishing out assists was at 14.0 times per contest (165th in Division 1) and they turned it over 12.4 times per game. Providence earned 2,815 pts last year (85.3 per game) and they grabbed 38.5 rebounds per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Friars shot 47.6% from the floor, which was ranked 42nd in D-1.

The Providence defense allowed 35.3% on three-point shots (298 of 845) and their opponents converted on 72.1% of their free throw attempts. They surrendered 14.1 assists and 35.9 boards per contest, which was ranked 191st and 278th in D-1. The Friars on the defensive side of the court were 360th in the nation in PPG given up with 84.0. They forced 9.7 TO's every game and let teams shoot 44.6% from the field (208th in college).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Providence

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