UMass Lowell River Hawks vs UMBC Retrievers Prediction, 1/24/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UMass Lowell River Hawks vs UMBC Retrievers

Date: Saturday, January 24, 2026

Location: Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore, MD

TV: ESPN+

Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena is where the UMBC Retrievers (11-7) will take on the UMass Lowell River Hawks (8-12) on Saturday.

The UMass Lowell River Hawks faced off with Vermont and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 77-68 in their last game. In the matter of personal fouls, the River Hawks ended up walking away with 10 while Vermont finished the game with 14 personal fouls. They converted 8 of their 22 attempts from 3-point range. Vermont went 87.5% when shooting free throws by converting 7 of 8 shots. In addition, Vermont collected 33 rebounds (7 offensive, 26 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Vermont earned 10 assists and had 8 steals in this game. Regarding defending, UMass Lowell allowed the other team to shoot 48.4% from the floor on 31 out of 64 shooting. They also recorded 13 assists in this matchup while forcing the other team into 7 turnovers and getting 2 steals. When discussing grabbing boards, they compiled 35 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. From the charity stripe, the River Hawks made 12 of 15 attempts for a rate of 80.0%. UMass Lowell ended having earned a 39.0% field goal percentage (23 out of 59) and knocked down 10 of their 25 shots from distance.

Angel Montas is a player who was important in this contest. He finished the contest at 50.0% from the floor and also totaled 4 assists. He played 36 minutes played and also pulled down 8 rebounds. He racked up 18 points on 7 out of 14 shooting.

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UMass Lowell enters this contest with a mark of 8-12 this season. They are turning it over 13.5 times per game and as a team they are committing 15.2 personal fouls every game. As a unit, UMass Lowell is snagging 37.0 rebounds per game and is sitting with 260 assists on the year, which is 240th in college in terms of passing. The River Hawks are shooting 34.0% on 3-point shots (123 of 362) and 66.2% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 76.0 points per game (201st in D-1) while hitting 46.9% from the field.

On the defensive end, the River Hawks are able to force 10.9 turnovers per game and they draw 18.5 fouls. They surrender 34.5% from beyond the arc and they are 292nd in college in PPG allowed (78.0). The River Hawks defensively are allowing a shooting percentage of 45.8% (574 of 1,252) and they concede 33.3 boards per game as a team. They are ranked 266th in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 284 relinquished this season.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the UMBC Retrievers took home the win by a final score of 87-74 against NJIT. The Retrievers earned 28 defensive boards and 5 offensive rebounds for a total of 33 for this contest. They gave up possession 5 times, while earning 3 steals for the game. NJIT committed 22 personal fouls for the matchup which took the Retrievers to the free throw line for a total of 30 shots. They were able to knock down 23 of them for a rate of 76.7%. Concerning shots from beyond the perimeter, UMBC converted 6 of their 20 attempts (30.0%). Overall, the Retrievers ended up shooting 29 for 56 from the field which gave them a rate of 51.8%. The Retrievers allowed NJIT to bury 28 out of 64 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 43.8% for the matchup. They finished shooting 30.0% from 3-point land by hitting 6 of 20 and ended up going 12 out of 23 at the charity stripe (52.2%). With respect to cleaning up the glass, UMBC permitted NJIT to collect 37 in total (12 on the offensive glass).

Ace Valentine ended up being a factor for the Retrievers in the matchup. He earned 19 points in his 36 minutes on the court and totaled 2 assists for this contest. He knocked down 7 out of 10 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 70.0%, and accounted for 4 rebounds.

UMBC has a record of 11-7 for the campaign. The Retrievers commit 13.5 personal fouls per contest and they connect on 71.6% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 13.4 times per contest (240th in college hoops) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.0 times per contest. UMBC has totaled 1,360 points for the season (75.6 per game) and they collect 34.7 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offense, the Retrievers are shooting 47.4% from the field, which is ranked 78th in Division 1.

The UMBC defense allows 32.9% on shots from 3-point land (116 of 353) and their opponents are connecting on 68.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They concede 11.2 dimes and 34.3 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks them 35th and 179th in Division 1. The Retrievers on defense are ranked 113th in the nation in points per game surrendered with 71.2. They have forced 10.3 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.6% from the floor (238th in college).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take UMBC

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