Samford Bulldogs vs VMI Keydets Prediction, 1/1/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Samford Bulldogs vs VMI Keydets

Date: Thursday, January 1, 2026

Location: Cameron Hall in Lexington, VA

TV: ESPN+

The VMI Keydets (5-8) welcome the Samford Bulldogs (7-6) at Cameron Hall on Thursday.

The Samford Bulldogs faced Reinhardt and notched a win by a score of 85-49 in their last contest. When talking about fouls, the Bulldogs finished with 14 and Reinhardt totaled 13 fouls. They also made 8 of 22 shots from distance. Reinhardt finished the contest at 63.6% at the free throw line by burying 7 of their 11 tries. On top of that, Reinhardt had 30 rebounds (6 offensive, 24 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Reinhardt distributed 10 assists and had 6 steals in the game. In terms of the defense, Samford allowed the other team to shoot 26.6% from the field on 17 out of 64 shooting. They also dished out 24 assists for the contest while creating 13 turnovers and earning 7 steals. In relation to hauling in rebounds, they earned 49 with 14 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Bulldogs converted 6 of their 15 attempts for a rate of 40.0%. Samford finished with a 47.9% FG percentage (34 of 71) and converted 11 of their 38 three-point shots.

Judson Bjornstad is one player who was a contributor for this contest. He ended up finishing with 16 points on 6 out of 10 shooting. He saw the court for 23 minutes and also collected 6 boards. He ended up going 60.0% from the floor and distributed 2 dimes.

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Samford steps onto the court with a record of 7-6 so far this season. They are turning it over 9.8 times per game and as a team are committing 15.4 fouls per game. As a unit, Samford is pulling in 38.4 boards per game and has totaled 184 assists this year, which ranks 196th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. The Bulldogs are hitting 32.2% from downtown (123 of 382) and 66.1% from the free throw line. They average 77.2 points per game (197th in the country) while hitting 42.4% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Bulldogs are forcing 10.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 19.8 fouls. They relinquish 36.9% from 3-point land and they are 243rd in Division 1 in points per game allowed (75.8). The Bulldogs are giving up a FG percentage of 43.8% (358 of 817) and they relinquish 38.9 rebounds per contest as a team. They are 219th in college in giving up assists to the opposition with 174 surrendered for the year.

When they last stepped on the court, the VMI Keydets took a loss by a score of 97-90 when they faced Radford. In reference to rebounds, VMI permitted Radford to get 31 overall (11 on the offensive glass). They finished 44.0% from downtown by shooting 11 of 25 and ended up shooting 32 of 40 at the charity stripe (80.0%). The Keydets allowed Radford to convert 27 of their 49 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 55.1% for the contest. When the final whistle blew, the Keydets finished the game shooting 27 out of 56 from the field which gave them a percentage of 48.2%. Regarding three-point attempts, VMI buried 11 out of their 24 attempts (45.8%). They were able to bury 25 of them for a rate of 89.3%. Radford earned 21 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Keydets to the charity stripe for a total of 28 tries. They coughed up the ball 13 times, while earning 7 steals in this game. The Keydets pulled down 21 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 29 for this contest.

TJ Johnson ended up being important for the Keydets in this contest. He buried 5 of 11 for this contest for a field goal rate of 45.5%, and had 4 rebounds. He totaled 21 points in his 37 minutes of playing time and had 1 assist in this contest.

VMI has a win-loss mark of 5-8 on the campaign. On the offensive side of the court, the Keydets are hitting on 41.4% from the floor, which is 333rd in the nation. VMI has accounted for 1,015 pts this year (78.1 per game) and they collect 37.3 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 13.7 times per contest (243rd in the country) and they are losing possession via turnover 10.7 times per contest. The Keydets are committing 17.3 personal fouls every game while shooting 72.9% from the free throw line.

The VMI defense gives up 33.3% on 3-pointers (110 of 330) and their opponents are knocking down 70.3% of their free throw shots. They have relinquished 17.2 dimes and 40.5 total boards per game, which is ranked 346th and 354th in college hoops. The Keydets on defense are ranked 258th in the nation in points per game surrendered with 76.2. They have forced 12.9 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.5% from the floor (187th in the nation).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take VMI

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