Saint Joseph’s vs UMass Odds and Picks (Feb. 12)

• The Saint Joseph’s vs UMass odds favor the Minutemen by 2.5-points on Saturday (Feb. 12) at 12pm ET
• The Hawks have covered in four of their past five outings, and are 8-5 ATS as an underdog
• Read below for odds, analysis and a betting prediction

Saturday’s college hoops slate is loaded. The top-25 teams in the AP rankings are sure to garner most of the attention in the betting market, but don’t sleep on the value in games featuring less prominent programs.

One of those contests to pay attention to will take place in the Atlantic-10 conference, as Saint Joseph’s visits UMass.

Saint Joseph’s vs UMass Odds

Odds as of Feb. 11th at BetMGM.

The Minutemen opened up as a 2.5-point favorite, in a game that features a total of 152.5. Tip-off is scheduled for Noon ET at the William D. Mullins Memorial Center in Amherst, MA, with ESPN+ providing the broadcast coverage.

UMass Minutemen Betting Analysis

Both of these teams rank bottom-six in the A-10 standings, and neither team is in particularly good form. The Minutemen (10-12, 3-7 A-10) enter play having alternated losses and wins in each of their past seven contests.

Last time out, they fell 77-68 to George Washington at home, dropping their record on their own court to 7-4.

2nd career double-double for Buttrick! 👏

1️⃣5️⃣ points + 1️⃣0️⃣ rebounds#Flagship 🚩 pic.twitter.com/AJ5bWOMVcZ

— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) February 10, 2022

Trent Buttrick led the offense with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Rich Kelly splashed 15 points. It was a miserable outing for leading scorer Noah Fernandes, who managed only 4 points on 1-of-11 shooting.

UMass shot 40.7% from the field, and 29.6% from three, which is well below their season averages. They’re the third highest scoring team in the conference, and only Davidson shoots a higher percentage from beyond the arc.

JG ….. 𝐁𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬.#Flagship 🚩 pic.twitter.com/18DaEwPVb7

— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) February 10, 2022

Defense is their primary weakness, and it was again versus the Colonials. They allowed George Washington to shoot 46.7%, and were dominated on the glass. The Minutemen were -12 in the rebounding department, and surrendered 12 offensive rebounds. They rank dead last in the A-10 in scoring defense and defensive rating, and yield the 14th highest opponent shooting percentage in the country (48.3%).

Saint Joseph’s Hawks Betting Analysis

The Hawks meanwhile, enter play losers of seven of their past 10. Last time out, they fell 73-67 in overtime to Davidson, the conference’s top team.

Left it all out on the court#THWND pic.twitter.com/CJoEscbfka

— SJU Hawks MBB (@SJUHawks_MBB) February 10, 2022

Saint Joseph’s took a 7 point lead into the half, but a season-low 22 second half points allowed the Wildcats to get the game to overtime where they prevailed.

Erik Reynolds II led the Hawks with 20 points, while Ejike Obinna added 16 points and 13 rebounds. It was an off night for all of Saint Joseph’s shooters, especially Jordan Hall. The Hawks leading scorer managed only 5 points, missing 10 of the 12 shots he took.

1st | 8:00
Saint Joseph's 27
Davidson 16@jordanhall31 finds Ejike Obinna for the alley-oop! #THWND pic.twitter.com/3JoMWRAnM1

— SJU Hawks MBB (@SJUHawks_MBB) February 10, 2022

The team shot just 38% from the field and 27% from three, failing to capitalize on a strong defensive performance. Saint Joseph’s held Davidson to 42.9% from the field, and 8.7% from beyond the arc.

They enter play ranked ninth out of 14 A-10 teams in points per game, and 10th in scoring defense. Despite the pedestrian statistics however, they’ve been excellent at covering spreads this season.

Saint Joseph’s vs UMass Pick

The Hawks have covered in four of their past five, and are 13-9 ATS overall. They’re 5-3 against the number on the road, and 8-5 ATS as an underdog.

Yes, they’ve struggled to win games recently, but they have played up to their competition. They took Davidson to OT, and also covered versus St. Bonaventure and George Mason over the past few weeks, two other teams that grade out higher than they do.

Saint Joseph’s is actually rated higher than UMass per KenPom, and it’s hard to back the Minutemen given their inconsistent play. They’re 2-3 ATS in their last five outings, and just 5-5 against the spread in conference play. In a game that projects this close, I’ll take the underdog.

Pick: Saint Joseph’s Hawks +2.5 (-114)