AmEast foes will battle when the Vermont Catamounts (10-5, 1-0 AmEast) go head-to-head with the UMBC Retrievers (10-6, 1-0 AmEast) at Roy L Patrick Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 6, 2018, and it can be seen on ESPN 3.
UMBC Retrievers vs. Vermont Catamounts ATS Preview
In the Retrievers last outing, they beat the New Hampshire Wildcats, 71-67. Jairus Lyles was the games leading scorer with 27 points on 9-for-18 shooting. The Retrievers forced 18 turnovers and had a free throw rate of 0.250 (above their season average of 0.214).
The Catamounts hope to maintain momentum after defeating the Massachusetts-Lowell River Hawks in their last contest, 88-77. Vermont received a boost from Drew Urquhart, who put up 19 points and 12 rebounds. Vermont dominated nearly every stat category in the game. They had a phenomenal offensive rebounding percentage of 39.1 (above their season average of 26.3) and a free throw rate of 0.353 (above their season average of 0.283). For those same stats, Massachusetts-Lowell was 20.0 and 0.211, respectively.
The upper-echelon offense of Vermont will battle against the porous defense of UMBC. The Catamounts currently rank 31st in effective field goal percentage (0.565), while the Retrievers are 290th in effective field goal percentage allowed (0.534). The Catamounts figure to have the edge on that end of the court.
This will be the first matchup of the year between these two teams. The Catamounts won both matchups played against each other last season. In the last matchup, Vermont won 77-74. The Catamounts played a nearly perfect game. They had an absurd offensive rebounding percentage of 40.0 and a ridiculous free throw rate of 0.520. For those same stats, the Retrievers put up marks of 15.0 and 0.270, respectively.
UMBC Retrievers vs. Vermont Catamounts Betting Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – UMBC, ATS Winner – UMBC, O/U – Under
Betting Notes:
- The Retrievers average 7.3 steals per game, which ranks 64th in the nation. The Catamounts rank 68th in steals allowed per game (5.9).
- UMBC ranks 10th in three pointers attempted per game (29.5) while Vermont ranks 186th (20.7).
- The Catamounts rank second in rebounds allowed per game (28.6) while the Retrievers rank 167th (35.9).
- UMBC averages 16.1 assists per game, which ranks 55th in the NCAA. Vermont ranks 146th in assists allowed per game (13.9).
Betting Trends:
- The Catamounts average margin of victory in their last five games has been 9.2, up from 5.9 for the season.
- During their last five games, the Retrievers have scored an average of 71.6 points per game (7.1 below their season average) and allowed an average of 64.6 points per game (8.5 below their season average).