UMass Minutemen vs Ball State Cardinals Prediction, 2/24/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UMass Minutemen vs Ball State Cardinals

Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Location: Worthen Arena in Muncie, IN

TV: ESPN+

Worthen Arena is the location where the Ball State Cardinals (8-19) will try to beat the UMass Minutemen (15-13) on Tuesday.

The UMass Minutemen faced Buffalo and went home with a loss by a final score of 86-82 in their last game. With respect to fouls, the Minutemen finished with 23 and Buffalo finished the game with 16 fouls. They also buried 12 out of their 24 shots from three-point range. Buffalo finished 73.3% at the free throw line by knocking down 22 of their 30 shots. Additionally, Buffalo snagged 23 rebounds (5 offensive, 18 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Buffalo totaled 18 assists and had 11 steals for the matchup. When it comes to defending, UMass let their opponent shoot 48.1% from the floor on 26 out of 54 shooting. They also doled out 21 assists in this contest while creating 9 turnovers and getting 7 steals. With respect to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 33 with 11 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Minutemen converted 13 of their 22 shots for a rate of 59.1%. UMass ended the game with a 51.7% FG percentage (30 of 58) and converted 9 out of their 25 shots from distance.

Marcus Banks Jr. is a guy who was a major contributor for this contest. He ended up going 56.3% from the floor and recorded 3 assists. He was on the hardwood for 36 minutes played and also snagged 3 rebounds. He accumulated 24 points on 9 of 16 shooting.

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UMass heads into this matchup with a record of 15-13 for the year. They turn it over 13.2 times per contest and as a group they are committing 21.1 personal fouls per contest. As a team, UMass is snagging 37.3 boards per contest and has earned 493 dimes so far this year, which is 19th in the country in terms of passing. The Minutemen are hitting 36.0% on shots from distance (220 of 611) and 66.6% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 80.9 pts per contest (75th in D-1) while shooting 47.2% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Minutemen are forcing 12.8 turnovers per contest while drawing 19.4 fouls. They are currently ranked 294th in D-1 in allowing assists with 414 surrendered this year. The Minutemen defense is allowing a FG percentage of 45.2% (712 of 1,574) and they surrender 31.9 boards per game as a team. They surrender 32.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 277th in D-1 in PPG allowed (77.3).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Ball State Cardinals walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 78-65 when they faced Akron. The Cardinals were able to collect 22 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards for a total of 30 in this matchup. They also coughed up the ball 13 times, while earning 6 steals for this contest. Akron had 11 fouls in this contest which took the Cardinals to the charity stripe for 9 tries. They were able to make 6 of them for a percentage of 66.7%. When it comes to shots from 3-point land, Ball State converted 13 of their 28 attempts (46.4%). When the final whistle blew, the Cardinals finished 23 for 58 from the floor which gave them a rate of 39.7%. The Cardinals permitted Akron to knock down 29 of their 64 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 45.3% for this contest. They went 31.0% from 3-point land by hitting 9 out of 29 and ended up going 11 out of 15 from the free throw line (73.3%). When it comes to how they attacked the glass, Ball State allowed Akron to collect 38 overall (12 offensive).

Davion Hill pitched in for the Cardinals for the game. He earned 18 points in his 32 mins on the court and added 2 dimes in the matchup. He buried 6 of 12 in the matchup giving him a rate of 50.0%, and had 11 rebounds.

Ball State has a mark of 8-19 on the campaign. In terms of offensive execution, the Cardinals are connecting on 41.2% from the field, which has them ranked 341st in the country. Ball State has scored 1,781 pts on the season (66.0 per contest) and they pull down 31.8 rebounds per contest. They are dishing out assists 12.0 times per contest (311th in D-1) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 10.9 times per contest. The Cardinals are committing 15.7 fouls per contest and they hit 69.4% from the charity stripe.

The Cardinals on the defensive side of the court are 84th in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 70.3. They are forcing 12.8 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 45.3% from the floor (253rd in Division 1). The Ball State defense gives up 34.1% on 3-point attempts (211 of 619) and their opponents are making 76.7% of their free throw attempts. They concede 13.4 assists and 35.8 boards per contest, which has them ranked 181st and 265th in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UMass

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