The game is on ESPN+.
UMBC is a member of the America East Conference.
The Retrievers were picked to finish 2nd out of the 9 teams in 26-27 preseason polls, just behind Vermont. No individual players were selected for preseason honors.
History:
We are 13-8 against UMBC all-time but have only played them twice since 2012. We beat them 74-63 on 12/4/12 and 69-53 on 12/21/1
Last season:
UMBC was 24-9 overall and 14-2 in conference play last season. They were 15-2 at home, 9-6 on the road, and 0-1 at neutral sites.
UMBC was 0-2 against Quad 1 teams, 0-2 against Quad 2, 0-2 against Quad 3, and 19-3 against Quad 4 teams.
The Retrievers won the America East Conference tournament beating #2 seed Vermont to advance to the NCAA Tournament. It was their 3rd appearance in the dance in 40 years of D1 play.
They lost to Howard (86-83) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
26-27 Schedule: https://umbcretrievers.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule
KenPom: Gives us a 91% chance of winning.
GMU - 99
UMBC - 275
NET: Last Season. 26-27 Rankings begin in December.
Mason - 94
UMBC - 199
The Retrievers have 12 new players on their 26-27 roster.
Returning Players:
6’6” Regimantas Ciunys - Missed all of last year with injuries - Senior.
6’1” Devin Ceaser - made 3 appearances before season ending injury - Senior
6’10” Riley Jacobs - 3.8 ppg - Sophomore
Transfers:
6’3” Flash Burton from Rider - 15.1 ppg & 2.9 assists - Junior
6’7” JP Ndong from State Fair Comm Coll - 11.4 ppg - Sophomore
6’2” Evan Morton - East Stoudsburg - 13.9 ppg & 3.0 assists - Freshman of the Year - Sophomore
6’6” Jaiden Reynolds from Odessa College - 12.1 ppg and 40.2% from 3 - Junior
6’5” Jovan Ristic from St. Anselm - 11.8 ppg - Junior
6’5” Taesyn Slating - Erie Community College - 13.0 ppg & 39.8% from 3 - Junior
6’9” Alpha Barry from Gulf Coast College - 3.9 ppg - Junior
5’10” Leo Ferry from Salisbury - made 8 appearances - Junior
6’3” Austin Cross from Troy - 3.6 ppg - Sophomore
Freshmen:
6’4” Aiden Able - from John Carroll in Baltimore
6’4” Carlos Varela - from Spain
7’0” Steven Huan from China - played at St. Andrew’s in Episcopal, Maryland. Has a twin brother who plays for Purdue. Ranked as a premier international prospect from the Joe Tsai Basketball Scholarship Program.
Roster:
https://umbcretrievers.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Team Stats:
Last season the Retrievers averaged 76.4 points per game while giving up 67.6.
They shot 47.3% from the floor and 36.3% from 3.
Opponents shot 42.5% from the field and 31.4% from 3.
The Retrievers shot 75.8% from the free throw line.
They out-rebounded opponents by an average of 2.1 boards per game and averaged 13.1 turnovers per contest.
25-26 Stats:
The official 2025-26 Men's Basketball cumulative statistics for the University of Maryland, Baltimore County
umbcretrievers.com
Thoughts: With 12 new players they have completely reshaped their roster. The returning players either missed time with injuries or contributed little last season. Transfers have some solid numbers but come from places I know very little about. I would expect Flash Burton from Rider to be an impact player for the Retrievers. It’s interesting they were picked 2nd in the league given the number of new players.
Discuss.
