Check out our free Massachusetts vs La Salle pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Philadelphia. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.

Massachusetts vs La Salle Pick & Preview: Saturday, February 11th Betting Odds

Minutemen vs Explorers Matchup at a Glance

  • Sport: NCAAB
  • Teams: Massachusetts Minutemen at La Salle Explorers
  • Where: Philadelphia at Tom Gola Arena
  • Date: Saturday, February 11th
  • Betting Odds: Massachusetts +3.5, UMASS +140 | LASAL -174 O/U 147.0

Minutemen Preview:

The Massachusetts Minutemen head into today’s game in what will be their 25th game of the season, posting a record of 13-11. On the road, the Minutemen will be playing their 10th game of the season, having gone 4-6. So far, the Minutemen have been the underdog 12 times, going 5-7 straight up. Heading into today’s contest, they are the +3.5 underdogs on the spread.

Matt Cross comes into today’s game as the Minutemen’s leading scorer at 13.1 points per contest. Not only has Cross been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is Massachusetts’ top rebounder at 6.52 boards per contest. Behind Cross, the team has benefited from the strong play of Dyondre Dominguez, who is second on the team in scoring at 9.29 points per game. Overall, he has hit 54.9% of his shots and is adding 4.54 boards per game.

So far this season, Massachusetts has put together a strong scoring offense at 75.7 points per game (67th). This strong figure has come despite the Minutemen playing at a slow tempo compared to other schools. For the season, they have hit 37.0% of their shots from outside, which is closer to the NCAA average. Massachusetts’ overall field goal percentage currently sits at 43.3%

Explorers Preview:

The La Salle Explorers head into today’s game in what will be their 25th game of the season, posting a record of 11-13. Currently, the Explorers have been the home team 12 times, sitting with a record of 6-6. The Explorers’ are sitting with a betting line that is -3.5 points in their favor. For the season, La Salle has been favored to win in 9 games, sitting with a mark of 6-3.

La Salle’s leading scorer this season is Khalil Brantley, who is averaging 14.18 points per contest. So far, Brantley has accounted for 18.86% of the team’s scoring. In addition, he is contributing 4.64 rebounds per game and 4.0 assists. Josh Nickelberry is the second leading scorer for the Explorers, averaging 10.71 points per game. Between him and Nickelberry, they are accounting for 34.4% of the team’s scoring.

Offensive production has been hard to come by for La Salle this season, as they are currently ranked 314th in college basketball at 67.5 points per game. A major reason for low scoring totals is the fact that they have played at a below average pace, and have struggled to knock down outside shots. As a team, the Explorers’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 32.0%, placing them 365th in the NCAA.

Free Spread Prediction: La Salle Explorers -3.5

Heading into this matchup, with the La Salle Explorers sitting as -3.5 point favorites, we like them to pick up the win and cover the spread. Both team’s will be coming into the game looking to get up shots from outside, as La Salle and Massachusetts are averaging 7.63 and 9.5 made 3’s per game, respectively. One trend that we feel strongly about is the fact that La Salle has historically performed well against the spread at home, going 7-2-1 ATS (last 10). Before tonight’s matchup, we recommend getting a wager down on the Explorers to cover at -3.5.