New Hampshire vs UMBC Prediction 3/7/2026 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The New Hampshire Wildcats and the UMBC Retrievers meet Saturday in college basketball action from the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a New Hampshire Wildcats vs. UMBC Retrievers prediction.

New Hampshire Wildcats Recap

The New Hampshire Wildcats come into this game as the 8-seed in the tournament, finishing 9-20 overall including 5-11 in America East play.

Wildcats Snap Eight Game Skid To Close Year

Belal El Shakery leads New Hampshire in scoring and rebounding with 11.1 PPG and 8.2 RPG while Jack Graham has 11 PPG with 3.1 RPG. KiJan Robinson has 10.8 PPG with a team-high 2.3 APG to lead the Wildcats in assists to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for New Hampshire so far this season. Comeh Emuobor also has 9.2 PPG with 4.4 RPG as well on the year. As a team, New Hampshire is averaging 69.2 PPG on 40.7% shooting from the field, 30.8% from three and 66.5% from the foul line this season.

Why the New Hampshire Wildcats will win

– UMBC has lost each of its last four Conference Tournament games.
– The road team has won the first half in each of the last five games between New Hampshire and UMBC.

UMBC Retrievers Recap

The UMBC Retrievers come into this conference tournament as the 1-seed and regular season champion, finishing 21-8 overall including a 14-2 mark in America East conference play. 

Retrievers Win 9 Straight To Close Out Year

Jah’Likai King leads UMBC in scoring with 14 PPG along with 3.5 RPG while DJ Armstrong Jr. has 12.8 PPG with 2.8 RPG and 2.2 APG. Ace Valentine has 11.4 PPG with 4.2 RPG and a team-high 4 APG to lead the Retrievers in assists and to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for UMBC so far this season. Caden Diggs has 9.9 PPG with 3.5 RPG while Josh Odunowo has 8.5 PPG with 5.2 RPG and Jose Roberto Tanchyn has 6.5 PPG with a team-high 5.4 RPG to lead the Retrievers in rebounding as well this season. As a team, UMBC is averaging 75.5 PPG on 46.9% shooting from the field, 35.3% from three and 75.3% from the foul line this season.

Why the UMBC Retrievers will win

– UMBC has won each of its last nine games.
– New Hampshire has lost 17 of its last 18 road games.
– New Hampshire has lost the first half in nine of its last 10 Conference Tournament games.

Total Points Facts

– Seven of the last eight games between New Hampshire and UMBC have produced a total of 141+ points.
– Five of New Hampshire’s last six games at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena have produced a total of 140+ points.

New Hampshire Wildcats vs. UMBC Retrievers Prediction

I’m on UMBC here. I just think that the first round of this America East tournament is going to be fairly chalky and top heavy, especially these matchups because of the disparity between the top-tier and bottom-tier teams. UMBC nearly got caught in the first meeting but these were two teams headed in different directions down the stretch and I think UMBC delivers a big win and cover in this one.

Chris Ruffolo's Pick: UMBC -12.5