Maine Black Bears vs Sacred Heart Pioneers Prediction, 11/5/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Maine Black Bears vs Sacred Heart Pioneers

Date: Thursday, November 5, 2026

Location: William H. Pitt Center in Fairfield, CT

TV: ESPN+

The Maine Black Bears (8-24 last year) are en route to William H. Pitt Center on Thursday where they will go up against the Sacred Heart Pioneers (14-19 last season).

The Maine Black Bears played Providence and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 83-56 in their last game. Maine ended the game having earned a 34.9% field goal percentage (15 out of 43) and made 8 out of their 23 shots from beyond the arc. From the free throw line, the Black Bears made 18 of their 28 shots for a rate of 64.3%. In terms of grabbing rebounds, they earned 17 with 4 of them being offensive. They also dished out 9 assists for this game while forcing the other team into 7 turnovers and earning 5 steals. Pertaining to defense, Maine allowed 45.6% from the floor on 31 out of 68 shooting. Providence doled out 18 dimes and had 17 steals for this game. In addition, Providence collected 38 boards (14 offensive, 24 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Providence finished the game shooting 57.9% at the free throw line by making 11 of their 19 tries. They made 10 out of their 30 attempts from long range. In reference to fouls, the Black Bears finished with 18 while Providence accumulated 25 fouls.

Killian Gribben is one guy who was a contributor in the game. He totaled 10 points on 3 out of 5 shooting. He played 20 minutes played and also collected 4 rebounds. He finished 60.0% from the field and dished out 1 assist.

Get all of our NCAA Parlay Picks

Maine steps onto the hardwood after finishing with a mark of 8-24 last year. They lost possession via turnover 12.4 times per game and as a team committed 16.6 fouls per game. As a group, Maine pulled down 28.0 rebounds per contest and accumulated 393 dimes throughout last year, which was 300th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Black Bears hit on 31.9% on three-point attempts (191 of 599) and 64.1% from the free throw line. They averaged 62.5 pts per contest (363rd in the country) while hitting 44.5% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Black Bears forced their opponents into 13.0 turnovers per game and they drew 17.1 fouls. They surrendered 29.6% on three-point shots while they were 44th in college hoops in PPG from their opponents (68.4). The Black Bears defense gave up a FG percentage of 45.0% (795 of 1,766) and they conceded 36.8 boards per game as a unit. They were 118th in college in allowing assists 417 relinquished last season.

When they last played, the Sacred Heart Pioneers went home victorious with a score of 111-44 against Coast Guard. The Pioneers were able to corral 51 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds totaling 62 in this contest. They coughed up the ball 11 times, while getting 10 steals for this game. Coast Guard committed 19 fouls for this contest which took the Pioneers to the charity stripe for a total of 24 tries. They were able to knock down 16 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 66.7%. In reference to shots from beyond the arc, Sacred Heart knocked down 9 of their 25 attempts (36.0%). When the final whistle was blown, the Pioneers finished 43 for 73 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 58.9%. The Pioneers allowed Coast Guard to knock down 16 out of their 74 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 21.6% in this game. They wrapped up this game 27.3% from 3-point land by connecting on 9 of 33 and finished the contest at 3 of 9 at the free throw line (33.3%). Regarding rebounds, Sacred Heart allowed Coast Guard to grab 27 overall (5 offensive).

Jojo Wallace ended up being a factor for the Pioneers in this contest. He made 8 of 13 for the game giving him a rate of 61.5%, and had 3 rebounds. He earned 21 points in his 18 minutes on the court and accounted for 1 assist for this game.

Sacred Heart had a win-loss mark of 14-19 last season. As an offensive unit, the Pioneers shot 43.4% from the field, which was ranked 287th in D-1. Sacred Heart earned 2,482 points last season (75.2 per game) and they snagged 34.9 rebounds per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists was at 14.9 times per game (112th in college) and they coughed up possession 12.1 times per game. The Pioneers committed 14.8 fouls per contest and they shot 77.7% from the free throw line.

The Sacred Heart defense conceded 35.0% on shots from 3-point land (308 of 880) and their opponents connected on 69.7% of their foul shots. They surrendered 12.1 dimes and 35.3 boards every game, which was ranked 120th and 243rd in Division 1. The Pioneers on the defensive end were ranked 258th in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 76.6. They forced 10.3 TO's per game and let teams shoot 45.6% from the floor (261st in college).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Maine

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Get college basketball picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bets by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.