American Eagles vs Bucknell Bison Prediction, 2/18/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: American Eagles vs Bucknell Bison

Date: Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Location: Sojka Pavilion in Lewisburg, PA

TV: ESPN+

The Bucknell Bison (8-19) will play the American Eagles (14-13) at Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday.

The American Eagles took the court against Army and earned the victory with a final of 75-63 in their last game. American ended the game having earned a 53.1% FG percentage (26 of 49) and made 7 out of their 21 3-point shots. When they shot from the free throw line, the Eagles converted 16 of their 21 tries for a rate of 76.2%. In relation to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 23 with 4 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 12 assists in this matchup in addition to forcing 12 turnovers and earning 7 steals. In terms of the defense, American let their opponent shoot 38.9% from the field on 21 out of 54 shooting. Army recorded 15 dimes and had 7 steals for this game. In addition, Army snagged 27 boards (9 offensive, 18 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Army went 66.7% from the free throw line by knocking down 12 of their 18 shots. They also buried 9 of 23 attempts from downtown. When discussing fouls, the Eagles ended up finishing with 18 and Army finished the game with 20 fouls.

Madden Collins is a guy who had an impact for the contest. He was able to score 22 points on 9 of 11 shooting. He played 24 minutes and grabbed 2 boards. He walked away from this one shooting 81.8% from the field and recorded 3 dimes.

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American will play this contest with a win-loss record of 14-13 so far this season. They are averaging 75.0 pts per contest (216th in the nation) while hitting 45.2% from the floor. The Eagles are connecting on 33.4% on shots from 3-point land (244 of 730) and 75.4% from the free throw line. As a team, American is snagging 32.1 rebounds per game and has tallied 372 assists for the campaign, which has them ranked 159th in D-1 in terms of passing. They turn it over 11.3 times per game and as a group are committing 19.0 fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Eagles are forcing their opponents into 13.4 turnovers every game and they draw 17.1 personal fouls. They give up 34.1% on shots from downtown and they rank 127th in college hoops in points per game allowed (72.0). The Eagles defense is allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 45.6% (658 of 1,443) and they relinquish 34.2 rebounds per game as a team. They are ranked 171st in college in allowing assists with 344 conceded for the year.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Bucknell Bison took a loss by a final score of 82-69 against Boston. When talking about rebounds, Bucknell allowed Boston to get 40 in total (14 offensive). They went 44.8% from three-point range by going 13 of 29 and walked away from this one shooting 21 of 23 at the free throw line (91.3%). The Bison allowed Boston to knock down 24 of 57 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 42.1% in this matchup. Overall, the Bison shot 27 for 59 from the field which gave them a percentage of 45.8%. Pertaining to three-point attempts, Bucknell knocked down 9 of their 27 attempts (33.3%). They were able to bury 6 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 60.0%. Boston was called for 14 fouls for the contest which got the Bison to the free throw line for a total of 10 shots. They also turned the ball over 7 times, while getting 9 steals in this game. The Bison earned 15 defensive boards and 4 offensive boards totaling 19 in this matchup.

Achile Spadone was important for the Bison for the game. He knocked down 7 out of 14 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and earned 5 rebounds. He tallied 19 points in his 40 minutes on the court and had 2 dimes for the matchup.

Bucknell has a record of 8-19 on the campaign. When it comes to executing on offense, the Bison are hitting on 41.3% from the field, which ranks them 339th in college. Bucknell has accounted for 1,815 points this year (67.2 per contest) and they collect 31.1 rebounds per game. They are assisting teammates 13.0 times per contest (258th in college hoops) and they turn the ball over 12.9 times per contest. The Bison commit 18.1 fouls per contest and they connect on 77.1% from the charity stripe.

The Bison on the defensive side of the court are 270th in the country in points given up per game with 77.0. They are forcing their opponents into 12.1 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.8% from the field (316th in the nation). The Bucknell defense gives up 37.9% on 3-pointers (255 of 672) and their opposition knocks down 74.1% of their foul shots. They surrender 16.0 assists and 35.9 rebounds every game, which is 328th and 271st in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take American

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