Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions vs Alcorn State Braves Prediction, 3/5/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions vs Alcorn State Braves

Date: Thursday, March 5, 2026

Location: Davey L. Whitney Complex in Lorman, MS

TV: ESPN+

The Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions (12-18) are headed to Davey L. Whitney Complex on Thursday where they will attempt to defeat the Alcorn State Braves (8-21).

The Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions faced off with Jackson State and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 81-78 in their last contest. Regarding personal fouls, the Golden Lions ended up with 21 while Jackson State accounted for 17 personal fouls. They converted 9 of 27 attempts from 3-point range. Jackson State finished the game at 80.0% at the charity stripe by making 24 of their 30 tries. Moreover, Jackson State pulled down 33 rebounds (15 offensive, 18 defensive), but didn't have a block. Jackson State recorded 7 assists and had 9 steals in the matchup. In reference to defense, Arkansas-Pine Bluff allowed the other team to shoot 39.3% from the floor on 24 of 61 shooting. They also recorded 11 assists for the contest as well as forcing the opposition into 9 turnovers and having 4 steals. Pertaining to hauling in boards, they collected 28 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. At the free throw line, the Golden Lions knocked down 21 of their 24 tries for a rate of 87.5%. Arkansas-Pine Bluff finished the contest having earned a 47.2% field goal percentage (25 out of 53) and converted 7 out of their 19 3-pointers.

Quion Williams is a guy who was a major contributor for this game. He went 50.0% from the field and also earned 2 assists. He played 40 mins and grabbed 8 rebounds. He walked away with 21 points on 6 of 12 shooting.

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Arkansas-Pine Bluff comes into this contest with a mark of 12-18 on the year. They currently have an average of 76.9 points per game (154th in the nation) while going 44.7% from the field. The Golden Lions are shooting 34.2% on shots from 3-point land (230 of 673) and 75.4% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Arkansas-Pine Bluff is pulling down 33.7 boards per game and has 462 assists for the season, which is 90th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 13.8 times per game and as a squad they commit 19.7 fouls per contest.

When they are on defense, the Golden Lions are able to force 12.2 turnovers per game while drawing 16.7 personal fouls. They rank 289th in college in giving up assists with 446 conceded for the year. The Golden Lions defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 46.0% (829 of 1,801) and they surrender 36.5 rebounds per game as a squad. They are relinquishing 33.3% on 3-point attempts and they are 348th in college in points per game from their opponents (82.0).

When they last stepped on the court, the Alcorn State Braves walked away with a victory by a final of 67-64 when they faced MVSU. The Braves corralled 17 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 25 in this matchup. They also gave up possession of the ball 9 times, while getting 10 steals for the matchup. MVSU had 25 fouls for this contest which took the Braves to the charity stripe for 28 tries. They were able to knock down 20 of them for a rate of 71.4%. Regarding shots from beyond the perimeter, Alcorn State made 3 out of their 15 tries (20.0%). When the game finished, the Braves shot 22 for 49 from the field which had them shooting 44.9%. The Braves allowed MVSU to bury 22 of their 48 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 45.8% for the matchup. They went 18.2% from three-point range by going 2 out of 11 and ended up shooting 18 out of 23 from the free throw line (78.3%). In regard to cleaning up the glass, Alcorn State allowed MVSU to snag 24 overall (6 offensive).

Tycen McDaniels was important for the Braves in this contest. He made 11 of 16 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 68.8%, and accumulated 5 rebounds. He earned 29 points in his 37 mins on the court and accumulated 1 assist for this contest.

Alcorn State has a win-loss mark of 8-21 on the season. As an offensive unit, the Braves are shooting 42.5% from the field, which ranks 318th in college. Alcorn State has earned 1,960 pts so far this year (67.6 per contest) and they grab 29.6 boards per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 11.3 times per contest (344th in Division 1) and they turn it over 13.7 times per game. The Braves commit 17.9 fouls every game and they connect on 71.1% from the free throw line.

The Braves are ranked 341st in college in points per game surrendered with 81.1. They are able to force 13.0 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 50.1% from the field (362nd in the country). The Alcorn State defense gives up 34.2% on shots from distance (201 of 588) and their opposition makes 72.8% of their shots from the charity stripe. They allow 15.9 dimes and 36.7 rebounds per contest, which is 330th and 313th in those defensive categories.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Alcorn State

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