Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles vs SIU Edwardsville Cougars Prediction, 1/1/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles vs SIU Edwardsville Cougars

Date: Thursday, January 1, 2026

Location: First Community Arena in Edwardsville, IL

TV: ESPN+

The Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles (3-9) are headed to First Community Arena on Thursday where they will take on the SIU Edwardsville Cougars (8-5).

The Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles faced Morehead State and went home with a loss by a final score of 64-60 in their last game. With respect to personal fouls, the Screaming Eagles left the arena with 18 while Morehead State accounted for 15 personal fouls. They knocked down 3 of 11 shots from 3-point land. Morehead State finished shooting 68.2% from the charity stripe by knocking down 15 of their 22 attempts. Additionally, Morehead State pulled down 30 rebounds (7 offensive, 23 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Morehead State recorded 9 assists and had 9 steals for the contest. Regarding the defense, Southern Indiana allowed the other team to go 41.1% from the floor on 23 out of 56 shooting. They also dished out 8 assists in the game in addition to forcing the other team into 7 turnovers and earning 3 steals. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they compiled 33 with 14 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Screaming Eagles knocked down 17 of their 22 tries for a percentage of 77.3%. Southern Indiana finished with a 27.6% field goal percentage (16 out of 58) and knocked down 11 of 32 3-point attempts.

Cardell Bailey is a guy who came through in this contest. He finished the game shooting 35.3% from the field and also dished out 1 assist. He saw the court for 41 mins and collected 9 rebounds. He ended up finishing with 17 points on 6 out of 17 shooting.

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Southern Indiana will play this game with a win-loss record of 3-9 on the season. They are giving up possession 11.9 times per contest and as a group they commit 17.9 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Southern Indiana is grabbing 38.8 rebounds per contest and has totaled 141 dimes on the year, which has them ranked 347th in college hoops in terms of passing the rock. The Screaming Eagles are shooting 31.9% on shots from beyond the arc (107 of 335) and 62.6% from the free throw line. They average 71.6 points per outing (300th in the nation) while going 39.4% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Screaming Eagles are forcing 11.8 turnovers per game and they draw 17.8 personal fouls. They are surrendering 32.7% from 3-point land and they are 261st in the nation in PPG allowed (76.5). The Screaming Eagles defensively are allowing a FG percentage of 43.3% (325 of 750) and they surrender 42.3 rebounds per game as a squad. They currently rank 75th in D-1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 146 relinquished this year.

The last time they took the court, the SIU Edwardsville Cougars took home the win by a final score of 66-61 against Western Illinois. The Cougars earned 24 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 31 for this contest. They also gave up possession 13 times, while earning 6 steals in this contest. Western Illinois had 18 fouls in the game which got the Cougars to the charity stripe for 23 attempts. They were able to make 18 of them for a percentage of 78.3%. In terms of three-point attempts, SIU Edwardsville made 8 of their 20 tries (40.0%). Overall, the Cougars finished the game shooting 20 out of 51 from the field which gave them a rate of 39.2%. The Cougars allowed Western Illinois to bury 21 of their 50 attempts from the field which had them at 42.0% for the matchup. They wrapped up this game 30.8% from three-point range via 4 of 13 and finished the contest at 15 out of 22 at the free throw line (68.2%). With respect to cleaning the glass, SIU Edwardsville permitted Western Illinois to get 22 overall (4 offensive).

Ring Malith pitched in for the Cougars for the matchup. He racked up 24 points in his 35 minutes on the hardwood, but finished this game without an assist. He knocked down 7 out of 15 in the matchup for a field goal rate of 46.7%, and had 6 rebounds.

SIU Edwardsville has a win-loss mark of 8-5 for the season. As an offense, the Cougars are connecting on 45.2% from the floor, which ranks them 207th in college. SIU Edwardsville has accumulated 999 pts so far this year (76.8 per contest) and they pull in 38.2 boards per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 13.8 times per contest (236th in the country) and they cough up possession 11.2 times per game. The Cougars are committing 15.9 fouls per game and they go 68.4% from the charity stripe.

The Cougars are ranked 43rd in college in points per game surrendered with 66.5. They are able to force 14.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 39.7% from the field (45th in college). The SIU Edwardsville defense gives up 30.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter (99 of 320) and opponents are converting on 75.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They have conceded 10.4 assists and 34.2 boards per contest, which is 23rd and 168th in college.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take SIU Edwardsville

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