Air Force Falcons vs UNLV Rebels Prediction, 1/3/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Air Force Falcons vs UNLV Rebels

Date: Saturday, January 3, 2026

Location: Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV

TV: ESPN+

The UNLV Rebels (6-6) are hosting the Air Force Falcons (3-10) at Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday.

The Air Force Falcons took the court against Wyoming and ended up losing by a score of 68-56 in their last game. Air Force ended having earned a 50.0% field goal percentage (22 out of 44) and converted 1 of their 12 shots from beyond the arc. At the free throw line, the Falcons knocked down 11 of their 20 tries for a rate of 55.0%. In relation to rebounding, they compiled 22 with 3 of them being of the offensive sort. They also distributed 8 assists for the contest as well as forcing the other team into 20 turnovers and getting 11 steals. When talking about the defense, Air Force allowed the other team to go 35.4% from the floor on 17 of 48 shooting. Wyoming earned 13 dimes and had 10 steals in the game. On top of that, Wyoming grabbed 35 boards (11 offensive, 24 defensive), but didn't have a block. Wyoming finished 88.9% at the charity stripe by converting 24 of their 27 tries. They also converted 10 of 28 tries from beyond the arc. In regard to fouls, the Falcons walked away with 24 and Wyoming accounted for 21 fouls.

Caleb Walker is someone who was a factor in this game. He finished the game shooting 77.8% from the floor but had no assists at the end of the game. He saw the court for 26 mins and also grabbed 5 rebounds. He was able to score 17 points on 7 of 9 shooting.

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Air Force enters this one with a mark of 3-10 on the season. They average 64.8 points per outing (351st in Division 1) while connecting on 44.9% from the field. The Falcons are hitting 30.6% on three-point attempts (79 of 258) and 63.7% from the free throw line. As a team, Air Force is collecting 30.9 boards per game and has earned 159 assists on the campaign, which has them ranked 333rd in the country in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 14.6 times per contest and as a squad are committing 17.7 fouls on a nightly basis.

On defense, the Falcons have forced 12.1 turnovers per game and they draw 19.4 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 194th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 183 conceded for the campaign. The Falcons defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 45.7% (336 of 735) and they relinquish 34.3 boards per game as a team. They are conceding 33.9% from 3-point land while they are 195th in Division 1 in PPG from their opponents (73.7).

The last time they took the court, the UNLV Rebels got the win with a final of 89-47 against La Sierra. In the matter of how they rebounded, UNLV allowed La Sierra to pull down 24 in total (7 on the offensive side). They went 31.6% from distance by hitting 6 of 19 and finished the game at 13 of 19 from the free throw line (68.4%). The Rebels permitted La Sierra to bury 14 of 50 tries from the floor which had them at 28.0% in this game. When the final whistle blew, the Rebels finished 35 out of 75 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.7%. With regard to shooting from distance, UNLV made 6 out of 25 tries (24.0%). They were able to bury 13 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 86.7%. La Sierra earned 13 fouls for the matchup which took the Rebels to the charity stripe for a total of 15 tries. They also coughed up the ball 11 times, while getting 17 steals in this matchup. The Rebels snagged 27 defensive rebounds and 19 offensive boards totaling 46 in the matchup.

Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn ended up having an impact for the Rebels in this game. He made 6 of 9 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 66.7%, and earned 2 rebounds. He tallied 19 points in his 24 minutes on the court and had 3 assists for the contest.

UNLV has a win-loss record of 6-6 on the season. As an offensive team, the Rebels are connecting on 46.2% from the field, which has them ranked 153rd in college. UNLV has accumulated 982 pts for the campaign (81.8 per contest) and they average 37.6 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 15.8 times per game (109th in Division 1) and they are giving up possession 12.8 times per game. The Rebels have committed 21.2 fouls per contest and they hit 69.4% from the free throw line.

The UNLV defense allows 31.9% on 3-pointers (91 of 285) and opponents are knocking down 71.7% of their foul shots. They give up 15.4 dimes and 37.1 boards per contest, which is 297th and 293rd in the nation. The Rebels on the defensive end are ranked 308th in D-1 in points given up per game with 78.8. They are forcing 15.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 43.8% from the field (210th in the country).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Air Force

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