Manhattan Jaspers vs Maine Black Bears Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 2
Maine plays its first home game in Orono after splitting two road games, capped by a win at Sacred Heart. Manhattan is 0-2 and has scored 57 and 68, and its offense has to find something on the road against a defense built to slow it down.
The Matchup
Manhattan visits Maine on Sunday afternoon at Memorial Gymnasium in Orono, on ESPN+, with Maine a 2.5-point favorite, a total of 140.5, and the Black Bears priced at -135 on the moneyline. Maine is 1-1, with both games on the road: a loss at Providence, 83-56, against a Big East team, then a 74-72 win at Sacred Heart on Friday. Ace Flagg has 21 points and 11 rebounds across the two games, including 14 points and 10 rebounds at Sacred Heart, and DeAndre Williams has 20 points.
Manhattan is 0-2: the Jaspers lost 85-57 at Kentucky, then came home and lost 72-68 to UAlbany. Novak Manojlovic leads Manhattan with 23 points across the two games, Dusan Eric has 22, and Ben Pearce has 15 points and 7 assists. Last season, across the full season, Maine finished 8-24, scoring 62.5 points a game and allowing 68.4, and Manhattan finished 12-20, scoring 74.0 and allowing 78.9. Those are last season's numbers, and Manhattan's scoring has not followed it into this one: the Jaspers have averaged 62.5 points through two games, while Maine's win at Sacred Heart is the best result either team owns.
Key Factors
The total of 140.5 fits both teams' early shape: Maine's games have finished at 139 and 146 points, Manhattan's at 142 and 140, and neither offense has shown it can run away from a set defense. Maine's edge is balance and the glass: Flagg and Williams score inside, Yanis Bamba added 11 points and 6 rebounds at Sacred Heart, and the Black Bears get their first home crowd of the season.
The counterpoint is Manhattan's UAlbany game: Eric scored 16, the Jaspers put 68 points on a 2-0 team, and that version of their offense travels better than the Kentucky game suggests. If Manhattan's guards get downhill early, Maine's half-court offense, which produced 56 points at Providence, can stall. The bet is that Maine's defense and home floor hold a winless team to another low total.
Maine has the home floor, the better result, and the frontcourt scorer in form, while Manhattan's offense has been quiet in both of its games. Lay the points: Maine Black Bears -2.5 at -115.
Game Information
| Date | Sunday (11/8) |
|---|---|
| Start Time | 12:00 PM CT |
| How to Watch | ESPN+ |
| Venue | Memorial Gymnasium, Orono |
| Spread | Maine Black Bears -2.5 |
| Total | 140.5 |
| Moneyline | Maine Black Bears -135 |
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