Eastern Kentucky Colonels vs Queens Royals Prediction, 1/1/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Eastern Kentucky Colonels vs Queens Royals

Date: Thursday, January 1, 2026

Location: Curry Arena in Charlotte, NC

TV: ESPN+

Curry Arena is where the Queens Royals (5-7) will play the Eastern Kentucky Colonels (4-9) on Thursday.

The Eastern Kentucky Colonels faced off with Wichita State and took a loss by a score of 88-57 in their last game. In reference to personal fouls, the Colonels left the arena with 12 while Wichita State recorded 10 personal fouls. They converted 12 of their 28 attempts from distance. Wichita State walked away from this one shooting 57.1% from the charity stripe by making 8 of their 14 tries. Furthermore, Wichita State pulled down 47 rebounds (14 offensive, 33 defensive), but didn't have a block. Wichita State earned 26 assists and had 5 steals in this contest. When it comes to the defense, Eastern Kentucky allowed the other team to shoot 50.7% from the floor on 34 out of 67 shooting. They also doled out 12 dimes in this contest in addition to creating 6 turnovers and having 3 steals. Regarding hauling in rebounds, they earned 24 with 4 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Colonels converted 4 of their 7 attempts for a rate of 57.1%. Eastern Kentucky finished the contest with a 36.1% field goal percentage (22 of 61) and made 9 of their 29 shots from beyond the arc.

Montavious Myrick is a player who came through for this contest. He finished the contest at 30.8% from the floor and also earned 1 assist. He saw the court for 35 mins played and also grabbed 6 rebounds. He was able to score 12 points on 4 of 13 shooting.

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Eastern Kentucky comes into this one with a mark of 4-9 this season. They currently have an average of 79.1 points per outing (148th in the nation) while connecting on 41.4% from the floor. The Colonels are shooting 32.4% on shots from beyond the arc (139 of 429) and 72.7% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Eastern Kentucky is pulling down 38.7 boards per contest and is sitting with 178 assists so far this season, which is 225th in college in terms of passing the rock. They turn the ball over 12.9 times per contest and as a unit are committing 17.7 fouls per game.

On defense, the Colonels have forced 13.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.1 personal fouls. They are 304th in the country in allowing assists to the opposition with 202 relinquished this year. The Colonels defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 47.1% (367 of 780) and they surrender 37.2 boards per game as a group. They relinquish 36.2% on shots from downtown while they are 318th in college in PPG allowed (79.5).

When they last stepped on the court, the Queens Royals took a defeat with a final score of 108-80 against Arkansas. The Royals corralled 18 defensive boards and 14 offensive rebounds for a total of 32 for this contest. They also coughed up the ball 16 times, while recording 6 steals for the contest. Arkansas earned 15 fouls for the game which got the Royals to the charity stripe for a total of 20 attempts. They were able to make 14 of the free throws for a percentage of 70.0%. With respect to shooting from downtown, Queens buried 6 out of 25 tries (24.0%). When the final whistle blew, the Royals ended up shooting 30 out of 68 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.1%. The Royals allowed Arkansas to make 36 out of their 64 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 56.3% for this contest. They went 50.0% from beyond the arc by shooting 14 of 28 and finished the game at 22 of 27 at the free throw line (81.5%). Concerning team rebounding, Queens permitted Arkansas to collect 32 in total (10 offensive).

Nasir Mann ended up having an impact for the Royals in this contest. He converted 7 out of 10 in this contest for a field goal rate of 70.0%, and accounted for 5 rebounds. He racked up 16 points in his 30 mins of playing time and tallied 1 assist in this contest.

Queens has a mark of 5-7 for the campaign. On the offensive side of the ball, the Royals are hitting on 47.6% from the field, which has them ranked 89th in Division 1. Queens has tallied 1,008 pts so far this season (84.0 per game) and they pull down 34.0 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 16.7 times per game (80th in Division 1) and they lose possession via turnover 12.1 times per game. The Royals have committed 20.5 fouls per game and they shoot 72.6% from the free throw line.

The Royals on the defensive side of the court are 357th in college in PPG given up with 87.6. They are forcing 10.5 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 47.2% from the field (320th in Division 1). The Queens defense concedes 36.0% on 3-point shots (111 of 308) and their opponents are making 73.4% of their free throw attempts. They have surrendered 16.0 assists and 37.5 boards on a nightly basis, which is 314th and 310th in those defensive categories.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Queens

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