Oakland Golden Grizzlies vs Youngstown State Penguins Prediction, 1/1/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Oakland Golden Grizzlies vs Youngstown State Penguins

Date: Thursday, January 1, 2026

Location: Beeghly Center in Youngstown, OH

TV: ESPN+

The Oakland Golden Grizzlies (6-7) are en route to Beeghly Center on Thursday where they will take on the Youngstown State Penguins (8-5).

The Oakland Golden Grizzlies took the court against Michigan State and took a loss by a score of 79-70 in their last game. Oakland wrapped up the contest having earned a 42.9% FG percentage (24 out of 56) and made 10 out of their 22 3-pointers. From the charity stripe, the Golden Grizzlies made 12 of their 13 shots for a rate of 92.3%. When discussing pulling down boards, they earned 19 with 3 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 15 dimes in the game while forcing the opposition into 11 turnovers and having 8 steals. When it comes to the defense, Oakland allowed the other team to go 45.9% from the floor on 28 out of 61 shooting. Michigan State distributed 19 assists and had 4 steals for this game. In addition, Michigan State totaled 40 boards (15 offensive, 25 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Michigan State ended up shooting 73.9% from the free throw line by converting 17 of their 23 attempts. They also knocked down 6 out of their 22 tries from distance. With respect to fouls, the Golden Grizzlies ended up walking away with 21 and Michigan State accounted for 16 fouls.

Tuburu Naivalurua is a player who was a major factor for the contest. He notched 18 points on 6 of 11 shooting. He played for 32 minutes played and pulled down 5 boards. He finished the contest at 54.5% from the floor but had no dimes when the game ended.

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Oakland steps onto the court with a mark of 6-7 on the season. They have an average of 83.0 pts per contest (92nd in the country) while hitting 47.7% from the floor. The Golden Grizzlies are shooting 35.8% from downtown (97 of 271) and 73.6% from the charity stripe. As a team, Oakland is pulling down 34.1 rebounds per game and has accounted for 209 dimes on the year, which is 92nd in the country in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession by turning the ball over 10.6 times per contest and as a team are committing 15.5 fouls every game.

On defense, the Golden Grizzlies have forced 11.5 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.0 personal fouls. They are ranked 362nd in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 265 relinquished for the year. The Golden Grizzlies defensively are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 48.4% (411 of 849) and they concede 37.8 boards per contest as a team. They give up 34.3% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 347th in college in points per game allowed (84.0).

For their last game, the Youngstown State Penguins walked away with a victory by a final of 74-65 when they played USC Upstate. The Penguins were able to pull down 26 defensive boards and 9 offensive boards totaling 35 in this contest. They also coughed it up 11 times, while getting 11 steals for this game. USC Upstate earned 21 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Penguins to the free throw line for 29 attempts. They were able to knock down 20 of those for a rate of 69.0%. Regarding shooting from downtown, Youngstown State made 8 out of their 23 attempts (34.8%). When the final whistle blew, the Penguins finished shooting 23 out of 54 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.6%. The Penguins permitted USC Upstate to convert 21 out of 53 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 39.6% for this contest. They finished shooting 26.7% from distance by connecting on 4 of 15 and ended up going 19 of 25 at the charity stripe (76.0%). When discussing rebounds, Youngstown State permitted USC Upstate to pull down 30 overall (5 offensive).

Cris Carroll was important for the Penguins in the game. He accumulated 27 points in his 36 minutes on the court and had 5 dimes in this matchup. He made 8 of 16 for the matchup for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and accumulated 7 rebounds.

Youngstown State has a mark of 8-5 for the season. When it comes to offense, the Penguins are shooting 48.2% from the floor, which has them ranked 69th in college. Youngstown State has totaled 1,036 pts for the season (79.7 per contest) and they pull down 35.3 rebounds per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.7 times per game (176th in college) and they are losing possession via turnover 14.4 times per contest. The Penguins are committing 17.8 personal fouls per game while shooting 72.0% from the charity stripe.

The Penguins on the defensive end are ranked 91st in D-1 in points allowed per game with 69.0. They are forcing 14.5 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 42.6% from the field (139th in college hoops). The Youngstown State defense allows 28.3% on three-point shots (64 of 226) and their opponents are converting on 72.8% of their shots from the charity stripe. They allow 11.1 assists and 33.0 rebounds per game, which has them ranked 45th and 106th in those defensive categories.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Oakland

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