Albany Great Danes game today is against the Massachusetts Minutemen. The two teams meet at 7:00 p.m. ET on Monday at William D. Mullins Memorial Center in Amherst, Massachusetts.
It is one of seven NCAA basketball games today and perhaps features the most talented team on the slate.
Albany Great Danes vs. Massachusetts Minutemen
Surprisingly, this is the first meeting between the two schools separated by 102 miles. The two teams are in that odd period before or around the start of the early conference games.
A non-conference tune-up in line with finals for the students is also part of this scheduling quirk for many programs around the country.
Last Game Scoreboard
Albany’s Scoreboard
Albany (3-6) failed to cover 2.5 points in its 88-62 loss at American on Nov. 29. The Great Danes fell behind by 12 in the first half and couldn’t recover.
Jonathan Beagle led the way with 13 points on six of 10 from the floor. He also led the team with seven rebounds.
The Great Danes were outrebounded 27-17. They also shot 42% from the 3-point range and 44% from the field.
Massachusetts’ Scoreboard
Massachusetts (6-1) escaped a close one against Harvard, 71-68, on Friday.
The Minutemen were 1.5-point favorites and fell behind by nine at half and used a 12-point advantage in the second half to secure the road win. Noah Fernandes scored 18 points while making seven of his 11 shots.
Wildens Leveque led the team with seven rebounds. UMass had 28 rebounds to Harvard’s 35. The Crimson’s Chris Ledlum led all scorers with 25 points.
Albany Great Danes vs. Massachusetts Minutemen Analysis
While it’s surprising these NCAA basketball teams haven’t lined up on the NCAAB schedule before, it is highly possible that’s because they aren’t and haven’t been in the same conference.
However, that ends on Monday and gives each a regional opponent they can meet moving forward. The Great Danes have not fared well on either end of the court.
Albany’s Offense and Defense
Offensively they are 280th in scoring 67.7 points per game. They are 277th in making 42.4% of field goals and 285th at 66.3% on free throws. Their best mark is converting 35.4% of 3-pointers, which ranks 125th nationally.
Defensively, the Great Danes are 284th in allowing 73.7 points per game. They are last among Division I teams in allowing opponents to convert 49.6% of field goals. They are 312th in allowing teams to make 37.0% of 3-pointers.
They pull in 30.3 rebounds per game, ranking 291st, and allow 29.8 per contest, ranking 122nd defensively.
The lone entry on the college basketball injury report is forward Justin Neely, who is out for the season with a leg injury.
Gerald Drumgoole Jr. Leadership
Gerald Drumgoole Jr. is the team’s leading scorer at 13.2 points per game. Beagle leads the team in rebounds at 7.7 per contest.
Aaron Reddish is the third leading scorer, behind Beagle, at 9.9 points per game and is making 50% of his 3-point shots.
UMass has had some close games but still has one loss in the college basketball standings.
They’ve done it with great defense under coach Frank Martin who is in his first season at UMass after long runs at Kansas State and South Carolina.
The Minutemen allow 65.0 points per game, which ranks 98th nationally. Teams convert 42.2% of field goals against them, which is 159th.
They clamp down on the perimeter, though, forcing teams into 27.1% shooting from 3-point range, which ranks 28th nationally.
Massachusetts’ Offense
They are not so solid on offense, though. The Minutemen are 239th at scoring 70.0 points per game. They are 251st in converting 43.1% of shots.
Their saving grace? The Minutemen are 26th in converting 39.3% of 3-pointers. They struggle to put away games, though, as they make 64.9% of free throws, ranking 309th.
Fernandes is the team’s leading scorer at 11.4 points per game. Forward Matt Cross averages 10.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, which is second to Leveque at 5.6 rebounds per game.
It’s a team rebounding effort for the Minutemen. The Minutemen are a balanced group of college basketball players, which makes it difficult to defend. Here’s an odds breakdown before making Albany vs Massachusetts best bets.
Odds Breakdown
NCAAB odds show UMass as 15.5-point favorites with an over/under of 139 points. Albany is +1100 on the moneyline, while UMass is -1399.
The high spread makes Albany vs Massachusetts best bets at least questionable. That is the second-highest point spread on the Massachusetts Minutemen schedule this season and the first since the season opener.
Albany Great Danes
Albany is 2-5 against the spread as an underdog, which is also its overall record against the spread. That includes a 1-3 mark on the road. However, the Great Danes won against the spread of 16 at Towson in a five-point loss.
Massachusetts Minutemen
Massachusetts covered its season opener of -17.5 points against Central Connecticut State with a 27-point victory. The Minutemen are 5-2 against the spread and 3-2 as favorites. They are also 1-1 against the spread at home. They are 2-5 on over/unders.
Albany Great Danes vs. Massachusetts Minutemen Betting Pick and Prediction
Public betting data shows the Minutemen as popular Albany vs Massachusetts Prediction, with 63% on them against the spread and another 60% on the over.
The latter seems to be a good play, as the over is 4-0 in the Great Danes’ last four road games. However, the under is 5-1 in the Minutemen’s last six games overall.
Umass is 9-2 against the spread in its last 11 games, though that spans across two different coaches and completely different rosters.
Who to Bet On?
The Minutemen have played a lot of close games; their last five victories have been decided by six points or less and come after a surprising loss to Towson on UMass’ home court. So as Kevin Garnett famously said, “anything is possible.”
This game should have a slower pace due to both offenses struggling this season, but the 3-point shooting for each team is something to watch.
Here are our Albany vs Massachusetts best bets. We’ll take Albany +15.5, which really says more about UMass playing up or down to its level of competition more than anything. We also like the over 139.0 points.
NCAAB Pick: Albany +15 (-110)
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