The Boston College Eagles (5-5) take on the UMass Minutemen (6-3) in Springfield, Massachusetts, in the Hall of Fame Classic. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
Boston College is favored by -2 points on the spread with a moneyline of -140. The total is set at 140.5 points.
Here’s my Boston College vs. UMass prediction and college basketball picks for December 10, 2025.
Boston College vs UMass Predictions, Picks
My Pick: UMass +2
My Boston College vs UMass best bet is on the Minutemen to cover the spread. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Boston College vs. UMass Odds, Spread, Over/Under
| Boston College Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-2 -110 | 140.5 -110o / -110u | -140 |
| UMass Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+2 -110 | 140.5 -110o / -110u | +120 |
- Boston College vs UMass spread: Boston College -2
- Boston College vs UMass over/under: 140.5 points
- Boston College vs UMass moneyline: Boston College -140, UMass +120
Boston College vs UMass: NCAAB Preview, Picks
Boston College Eagles Betting Preview
I'm a Boston College grad, so excuse me if this section of the preview gets a little angry. In March of 2009, Boston College lost a first-round NCAA Tournament game as a seven-seed. The next fall, I arrived on campus. The Eagles' basketball program hasn't returned to the Big Dance since.
Those 17 seasons feature more head coaches (four) than winning seasons (three). Since joining the ACC, the program has been the laughingstock of the league, if not of all power-conference basketball.
Boston College had winning records in conference in four of its first six years as an ACC member, but it's now riding a streak of 15 straight losing seasons in conference.
This program is currently led by Earl Grant, a man whose seat is hotter than his morning coffee.
The Eagles are coming off a near-disaster loss to newly-DI New Haven, which is ranked in KenPom's bottom 15 teams currently. New Haven, which lost to Penn State by 40 points at home, led Boston College by 10 points at the half, with the Eagles managing only 23 first-half points on its home floor against the 265th-ranked defense in the nation.
Had Grant lost that game, there would be calls for his job that night (I'd be shouting it from the rooftops).
There are ways to see the glass half full in Chestnut Hill. This team is 0-3 in overtime games. Had they won each of those games, the Eagles would be 8-2 with a top-50 win.
They didn't, though, and the "What If" game works the other way as well. Boston College is currently facing just 26.8% shooting from outside the arc.
The near top-50 win came against an LSU team that shot 3-of-19 from outside. A five-point win over a bad Temple team was largely thanks to the Owls shooting 5-of-22 from deep. Lowly New Haven was also 5-of-22 in its upset bid.
This is a team performing poorly against KenPom's 300th-ranked schedule. The ACC season is, once again, going to hit this program like a Mack truck, and it's more than likely Boston College will be coach searching by spring.
The real question is: Who on earth would want this job?
UMass Minutemen Betting Preview
The good news for Boston College? UMass is also pretty bad.
The Minutemen have KenPom's 358th-ranked schedule, of 364 teams. UMass has yet to beat a top-175 team and has losses to Marshall, Charleston and the much-maligned, Doug Gottlieb-led Green Bay Phoenix.
UMass has a sputtery, ineffective offense that has a strong tendency to turn the ball over. The defense has been better, but like Boston College, it's largely built on some lucky shooting metrics. Opponents are shooting just 27.6% from deep, with the last five teams to play UMass managing to make just 22.6%.
Despite that, those five games include the Charleston and Green Bay losses.
UMass plays fast, but it doesn't hunt for 3s or make them very often, so the result is an offense built on driving in the paint, without the space to do so.
Lucky for UMass, it's the program's first year in the MAC, where it'll have a puncher's chance to compete, unlike its recent efforts in the Atlantic 10.
How To Make UMass vs Boston College NCAAB Picks
Conventional wisdom would be simple here. Boston College lays an absolute dud against New Haven, then bounces back and wins convincingly here. Having watched that New Haven win, I'm skeptical.
New Haven wasn't doing anything schematic to outsmart Boston College. The Chargers were breaking down Boston College defenders off the dribble and making plays into the paint. That's what UMass wants to do offensively.
Both of these teams are due for some defensive shooting regression, but neither offense is potent enough to expect a hot shooting night.
In a low-scoring battle, I'll take the Minutemen to cover in a game being played in Springfield, MA.
My Pick: UMass +2
