The UMass Lowell River Hawks (26-7) visit the Vermont Catamounts (22-10) Saturday in the America East Tournament championship game. Tip from Patrick Gymnasium is scheduled for 11 a.m. ET (ESPN2). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the UMass Lowell vs. Vermont odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
UMass Lowell beat New Hampshire 75-64 on Tuesday in the semifinals but failed to cover as a 12.5-point home favorite. It has now won 6 games in a row and 9 of its last 10. The River Hawks are 8-2 against the spread (ATS) in that span, improving to 18-11-1 ATS this season.
Vermont destroyed Binghamton 79-57 while covering as a 15.5-point home favorite Tuesday. It has now won 14 games in a row. The Catamounts are 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 games to improve to 18-12-1 ATS this season.
UMass Lowell and Vermont split the season series with UMass winning 80-65 and covering as a 1-point home favorite on Jan. 11 and Vermont winning 93-81 and covering as a 5.5-point home favorite on Feb. 11.
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UMass Lowell at Vermont odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 5:20 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): UMass Lowell +180 (bet $100 to win $180) | Vermont -230 (bet $230 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): UMass Lowell +5.5 (-115) | Vermont -5.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 140.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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UMass Lowell at Vermont picks and predictions
Prediction
Vermont 76, UMass Lowell 73
Moneyline
PASS.
The moneyline odds are justifiably not profitable for a play on a Vermont (-230) team entering on a 14-game win streak.
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Against the spread
LEAN UMASS LOWELL +5.5 (-115).
UMass is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games overall and 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games against a team with a winning percentage above .600.
The River Hawks’ offense ranks 35th in the nation in points per game (78.6) while the Catamounts’ defense ranks just 86th in points allowed per game (66.8). Expect the Red Hawks’ offense to hang around long enough to keep the final outcome in question until the final moments.
Over/Under
BET OVER 140.5 (-115).
The Over is 4-1 in the River Hawk’s last 5 Saturday games, 4-1 in their last 5 against a team with a winning outright record and 4-0 in their last 4 games against a team with a winning percentage above .600.
The Over is also 4-1 in the Catamounts’ last 5 Saturday games and 4-1 in their last 5 home games against a team with a winning road record.
Both teams played toward the Over this season with the River Hawks going 17-13 O/U and Catamounts going 18-13 O/U.
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