Stetson Hatters vs North Alabama Lions Prediction, 1/1/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Stetson Hatters vs North Alabama Lions

Date: Thursday, January 1, 2026

Location: Flowers Hall in Florence, AL

TV: ESPN+

The North Alabama Lions (5-6) are hosting the Stetson Hatters (4-9) at Flowers Hall on Thursday.

The Stetson Hatters took the court against Oklahoma and took a loss by a final of 107-54 in their last game. When talking about fouls, the Hatters ended up with 16 while Oklahoma finished the game with 13 fouls. They buried 12 of their 24 tries from downtown. Oklahoma finished shooting 68.2% when shooting free throws by knocking down 15 of their 22 tries. On top of that, Oklahoma pulled down 37 boards (8 offensive, 29 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Oklahoma doled out 22 assists and had 8 steals for this contest. Pertaining to defense, Stetson allowed the other team to shoot 67.8% from the field on 40 of 59 shooting. They also dished out 6 dimes for the game as well as forcing 8 turnovers and earning 3 steals. In the matter of grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 22 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Hatters made 9 of their 12 shots for a rate of 75.0%. Stetson ended having earned a 34.5% FG percentage (20 of 58) and converted 5 out of their 28 shots from downtown.

Ethan Copeland is a guy who was a major contributor for the game. He finished shooting 46.2% from the field and recorded 1 assist. He saw the court for 30 mins and snagged 2 boards. He walked away with 14 points on 6 out of 13 shooting.

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Stetson comes into this game with a win-loss record of 4-9 on the campaign. They are turning it over 13.7 times per contest and as a team are committing 14.5 fouls every game. As a team, Stetson is grabbing 33.4 boards per contest and has 169 dimes so far this season, which has them ranked 266th in college in terms of passing. The Hatters are shooting 32.0% on shots beyond the perimeter (109 of 341) and 63.1% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 68.8 pts per game (329th in the country) while shooting 42.2% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Hatters are forcing their opponents into 11.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 16.3 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 329th in college in allowing assists with 212 conceded on the campaign. The Hatters defense is giving up a FG percentage of 48.9% (388 of 793) and they relinquish 36.8 boards per contest as a team. They give up 36.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 327th in the country in PPG allowed (80.7).

For their last game, the North Alabama Lions went home defeated by a final of 91-57 against Loyola Marymount. The Lions were able to snag 20 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive boards totaling 31 in this contest. They also gave up possession 7 times, while getting 6 steals for this contest. Loyola Marymount committed 24 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Lions to the charity stripe for a total of 25 tries. They were able to convert 16 of the free throws for a rate of 64.0%. In terms of shooting from downtown, North Alabama converted 3 out of their 15 tries (20.0%). In all, the Lions finished the game shooting 19 out of 64 from the field which gave them a rate of 29.7%. The Lions allowed Loyola Marymount to knock down 32 of their 63 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 50.8% for the game. They wrapped up this game 50.0% from three-point range by shooting 16 out of 32 and finished the game at 11 of 17 from the free throw line (64.7%). In the matter of cleaning up the glass, North Alabama allowed Loyola Marymount to collect 38 in total (8 on the offensive glass).

Corneilous Williams ended up being a factor for the Lions for this game. He accumulated 14 points in his 24 minutes on the court and had 1 assist in this contest. He buried 3 of 7 for this game for a field goal rate of 42.9%, and accumulated 11 rebounds.

North Alabama has a win-loss mark of 5-6 so far this year. The Lions commit 15.5 fouls every game and they hit 69.1% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 11.0 times per game (349th in the nation) and they cough up possession 10.8 times per contest. North Alabama has scored 778 points on the season (70.7 per contest) and they average 36.4 boards per contest. When it comes to executing on offense, the Lions are shooting 42.1% from the floor, which ranks 319th in Division 1.

The Lions are ranked 238th in college hoops in points given up per game with 75.5. They are able to force 10.1 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.0% from the floor (215th in college). The North Alabama defense gives up 35.8% on three-point shots (106 of 296) and their opponents are making 71.0% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have relinquished 15.8 assists and 36.6 total boards per game, which ranks them 310th and 277th in D-1.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Stetson

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