UMBC vs NJIT Prediction College Basketball Picks 2/29/24

NJIT (7-19) vs UMBC (10-19)

Game Info: Thursday, February 29, 2024 at 7:00 pm (Wellness and Events Center)

Betting Odds: NJIT Highlanders +3 -- Over/Under: Click Here for the Latest Odds

Where to Watch: ESPN+

The UMBC Retrievers and the NJIT Highlanders meet Thursday in college basketball action from Wellness and Events Center. UMBC is coming off a win over New Hampshire that improved the Retrievers to 10-19 so far. As for NJIT, they’re 7-19 following a loss to Maine. Let’s get into our UMBC vs. NJIT prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Pick Dawgz.

UMBC Retrievers

The Retrievers only managed to win seven of their first 25 games this year. Those wins came over Penn State-York, Sacred Heart, Loyola MD, Hampton, Lehigh, Maine and UMass Lowell. It’s been a 3-1 run since then with wins over Binghamton, Albany and New Hampshire.

In the New Hampshire matchup on Saturday, the Retrievers came out of halftime with a nice 48-24 edge. UMBC was outscored 44-38 the rest of the way in an 86-68 victory. Marcus Banks was the team’s top scorer on his 28 points, while Dion Brown added 24 points and 11 boards.

NJIT Highlanders

Over on the NJIT side, they hit a rough 4-14 opening to the year with wins over Delaware State, Fordham, Medgar Evers and Morgan State. After wins over UMBC, Vermont and UMass Lowell in the next four, the Highlanders lost to Albany, Binghamton, New Hampshire and Maine.

Back on Saturday versus Maine, the Highlanders were up 30-25 going into the second half. NJIT was outscored 43-28 during a rough run from there and ended up losing 68-58 in the end. Tariq Francis and Elijah Buchanan were the leading team scorers on their 16 points apiece.

ANDREW’S FREE UMBC VS NJIT PREDICTION

I’ll lean toward NJIT here, but I’m probably not touching it. The Highlanders had a rough game versus Maine in their last appearance—especially in the second half—with 37.5 percent shooting from the floor. It was the third time in the last four games that the Highlanders had scored fewer than 59 points, so they’ve got to get the offense going.

The good news is that NJIT secured a 75-74 road win over UMBC the last time these teams met back on January 27. The Highlanders shot 43.9 percent in that one with a 38-33 rebounding edge. The home lift should give NJIT some breathing room in the rematch, but they’ve got to get their offense in gear.