Vermont looks to extend streak vs UMass Lowell

UMass Lowell (8-12, 2-3) vs. Vermont (14-6, 4-1)

Roy L Patrick Gymnasium, Burlington, Vermont; Saturday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Vermont looks for its seventh straight win in the head-to-head series over UMass Lowell. In its last six wins against the River Hawks, Vermont has won by an average of 14 points. UMass Lowell’s last win in the series came on Feb. 8, 2016, a 100-93 victory.

ARE YOU EXPERIENCED: Vermont has been fueled by senior leadership while UMass Lowell has relied on freshmen this year. Seniors Anthony Lamb, Stef Smith and Everett Duncan have collectively accounted for 56 percent of Vermont’s scoring this season. On the other hand, freshmen Christian Lutete, Connor Withers and Ron Mitchell have combined to score 49 percent of the team’s points this year and have accounted for 71 percent of all River Hawks points over their last five.

STEPPING IT UP: The River Hawks have scored 59.6 points per game across five conference games, an improvement from the 72.9 per game they put up against non-conference opponents.

FACILITATING THE OFFENSE: Obadiah Noel has had his hand in 41 percent of all UMass Lowell field goals over the last three games. The junior guard has 25 field goals and 13 assists in those games.

WINLESS WHEN: UMass Lowell is 0-6 when scoring fewer than 68 points and 8-6 when scoring at least 68.

ASSIST RATIOS: The River Hawks have recently converted baskets via assists more often than the Catamounts. Vermont has 45 assists on 76 field goals (59.2 percent) across its past three matchups while UMass Lowell has assists on 56 of 92 field goals (60.9 percent) during its past three games.

GETTING DEFENSIVE: The tough Vermont defense has held opponents to 59.1 points per game, the eighth-lowest mark in Division I. UMass Lowell has allowed an average of 76.2 points through 20 games (ranking the River Hawks 275th).