Sacramento State Hornets vs Idaho State Bengals Prediction, 1/1/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Sacramento State Hornets vs Idaho State Bengals

Date: Thursday, January 1, 2026

Location: Reed Gym in Pocatello, ID

TV: ESPN+

The Sacramento State Hornets (4-8) are on their way to Reed Gym on Thursday where they will try to beat the Idaho State Bengals (7-6).

The Sacramento State Hornets stepped onto the hardwood against Cal State Northridge and went home with a loss by a final score of 100-88 in their last game. When talking about fouls, the Hornets ended up finishing with 21 while Cal State Northridge finished the game with 19 fouls. They converted 9 of 24 shots from beyond the perimeter. Cal State Northridge finished 76.7% at the charity stripe by burying 23 of 30 attempts. On top of that, Cal State Northridge grabbed 37 boards (6 offensive, 31 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Cal State Northridge recorded 24 dimes and had 6 steals for the contest. In reference to defense, Sacramento State allowed their opponent to shoot 52.3% from the field on 34 out of 65 shooting. They also recorded 12 assists for this contest while forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and earning 7 steals. When discussing hauling in boards, they earned 28 with 5 of them being of the offensive variety. From the free throw line, the Hornets knocked down 24 of 27 shots for a rate of 88.9%. Sacramento State walked away from the contest having earned a 41.2% FG percentage (28 out of 68) and converted 8 out of their 24 shots from 3-point land.

Prophet Johnson is a guy who played a role for the matchup. He left the arena with 26 points on 8 of 19 shooting. He was on the court for 34 minutes and totaled 11 boards. He walked away from this one shooting 42.1% from the field and recorded 2 assists.

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Sacramento State enters this matchup with a mark of 4-8 this year. They are averaging 76.6 pts per game (209th in the nation) while going 40.3% from the field. The Hornets are hitting 33.2% on shots from 3-point land (99 of 298) and 76.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Sacramento State is collecting 38.8 rebounds per game and has accumulated 163 dimes on the campaign, which is 288th in college in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 12.3 times per game and as a unit they commit 19.3 fouls every game.

Defensively, the Hornets are able to force 12.3 turnovers per game and they draw 19.7 fouls. They are conceding 30.8% from beyond the arc and they are 319th in the country in PPG allowed (79.5). The Hornets defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 43.6% (332 of 761) and they concede 40.4 boards per game as a group. They are ranked 301st in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 201 surrendered on the campaign.

When they last played, the Idaho State Bengals walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 93-83 against UC Davis. When talking about rebounding, Idaho State permitted UC Davis to pull down 25 in all (6 on the offensive glass). They finished 25.0% from beyond the arc by hitting 4 out of 16 and walked away from this one shooting 21 out of 23 from the charity stripe (91.3%). The Bengals allowed UC Davis to knock down 34 of their 57 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 59.6% for the game. When the game finished, the Bengals finished 23 for 48 from the floor which had them at 47.9%. In terms of shots from distance, Idaho State buried 12 of 26 tries (46.2%). They were able to bury 25 of the free throw tries for a rate of 75.8%. UC Davis committed 24 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Bengals to the charity stripe for 33 shots. They also coughed up the ball 10 times, but weren't able to record a steal. The Bengals were able to snag 16 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive boards for a total of 27 for the game.

Louis Bond pitched in for the Bengals for the matchup. He knocked down 5 out of 7 in the matchup giving him a rate of 71.4%, but wrapped this game up without a rebound. He had 19 points in his 17 mins on the court and added 2 assists in this game.

Idaho State has a win-loss mark of 7-6 for the year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Bengals are shooting 46.5% from the field, which is ranked 137th in college. Idaho State has accounted for 983 pts on the season (75.6 per game) and they pull in 33.7 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 13.1 times per game (283rd in D-1) and they lose possession via turnover 11.8 times per game. The Bengals commit 16.4 personal fouls per contest and they go 73.7% from the charity stripe.

The Bengals on defense are ranked 106th in D-1 in PPG given up with 70.2. They are able to force 11.5 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.3% from the field (231st in the country). The Idaho State defense allows 32.4% on 3-point shots (91 of 281) and their opponents are knocking down 76.0% of their free throw shots. They have allowed 12.8 assists and 29.0 rebounds every game, which is 141st and 6th in those defensive categories.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Idaho State

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