Albany () vs Maine (16-10)
February 20, 2025 at 06:30 PM EST
The Line: Betting Odds: Albany +1 — Over/Under: 137
The Maine Black Bears and the Albany Great Danes meet Thursday in college basketball action from SEFCU Arena. Here’s a Maine vs Albany prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Maine vs Albany pick. We will examine:
The Maine Black Bears’ recent form and player performance
The Albany Great Danes’ recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Maine Black Bears
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Albany Great Danes
Recent betting trends in games played between Maine and Albany
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Maine vs Albany game
Maine Black Bears Betting Preview
Maine wasn’t looking so great record-wise back in early January, but they’ve gotten better since then. The Black Bears went a tepid 8-8 over their first 16 outings of the year. Those losses came courtesy of Duke, Quinnipiac, Richmond, Penn, Fordham, Stony Brook, Boston U, and Bryant in succession. Since then Maine has been on an 8-2 run over the last 10 outings. The losses came versus Vermont (twice). Otherwise, it was wins over Binghamton, Albany, NJIT, UMBC, UMass Lowell, New Hampshire, NJIT, and UMBC at that time. In total that gives the Bears a 16-10 overall run through their first 26 games of the year.
In their home rematch versus Vermont back on Saturday, the Black Bears came out of halftime with a 28-22 deficit. Maine got better in the second half on a 39-37 run but it wasn’t enough in a 65-61 loss. Tops in scoring was Kellen Tynes with 19 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Quion Burns added 16 points with nine rebounds, two steals, two blocks, and one assist, while both Killian Gribben and Christopher Mantis each provided six points off the bench.
Albany Great Danes Betting Preview
Over on the Albany side, they’ve had a choppy year so far with a .500 result in the record column. The Danes beat SUNY-Oneonta, Dartmouth, Siena, Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, and UMKC in their first six games, then fell to American, Georgetown, Boston U, Syracuse, and Drexel in the next six. Since then it’s been wins over Sacred Heart, Stony Brook, New Hampshire, Binghamton, NJIT, Bryant, and UMass Lowell with losses otherwise versus Fordham, UMass Lowell, Maine, Bryant, UMBC, Binghamton, and Vermont. Across their first 26 games of the season, the Great Danes are sitting at 13-13 overall.
Matched up against UMass Lowell last Thursday, the Danes overcame a two-point deficit at the half and forced overtime. Albany eventually lost 90-88 in a tough result after the extra period, though. The Danes’ leading scorer was Byron Joshua with 19 points, one rebound, and one assist. DeMarr Langford added 13 points with eight boards, five assists, and three steals, while Kheni Briggs had 13 bench points with three rebounds and two assists.
Why the UAlbany Great Danes will win
- Maine has lost 28 of its last 29 road games following a home loss.
- UAlbany has won each of its last three home games after coming off overtime.
- The home team has won the first half in five of Maine’s last six games.
Why the Maine Black Bears will win
- Maine has won each of its last six night games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- UAlbany has lost each of its last five night games at Broadview Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- UAlbany has lost the first half in four of its last five night games at Broadview Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.
Maine vs Albany Prediction
I’ll stick with Maine. The Black Bears have been doing pretty well lately outside of their matchups with Vermont. One of those was Maine’s latest loss, as the Bears gave up 47.9 percent shooting and had 12 turnovers in a four-point result. Even with the Vermont losses, the Bears have posted 71 or more points in seven of their last 10 games, an 8-2 run.
The last time these teams met up back on January 11, Maine pulled off an 87-66 home victory. The Black Bears shot a stellar 56.4 percent from the field in that one and scored 21 points off 20 Danes turnovers. There was a glaring discrepancy on the boards though, as Albany posted a 40-23 rebounding advantage (15-2 offensive). It was pretty lopsided for a home matchup. Albany likely won’t be so sloppy with the ball in this rematch, but I still like Maine to power one out if they can hit the glass a little better this time.