Central Connecticut Blue Devils vs Mercyhurst Lakers Prediction, 1/19/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Central Connecticut Blue Devils vs Mercyhurst Lakers

Date: Monday, January 19, 2026

Location: Mercyhurst Athletic Center in Erie, PA

TV: ESPN+

The Central Connecticut Blue Devils (9-6) are traveling to Mercyhurst Athletic Center on Monday where they will meet the Mercyhurst Lakers (7-10).

The Central Connecticut Blue Devils played Le Moyne and walked away with a win by a score of 69-59 in their last contest. When it comes to fouls, the Blue Devils finished with 16 while Le Moyne accumulated 21 fouls. They also made 5 of 27 shots from three-point range. Le Moyne went 87.5% from the free throw line by making 14 of their 16 tries. On top of that, Le Moyne totaled 32 boards (9 offensive, 23 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Le Moyne recorded 7 assists and had 6 steals in the matchup. Pertaining to defending, Central Connecticut let their opponent shoot 32.3% from the floor on 20 out of 62 shooting. They also distributed 8 assists for the contest in addition to creating 13 turnovers and getting 7 steals. In reference to grabbing boards, they compiled a total of 42 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Blue Devils made 21 of their 26 shots for a percentage of 80.8%. Central Connecticut wrapped up the game with a 37.3% field goal percentage (22 out of 59) and made 4 of their 22 3-point attempts.

Darin Smith Jr. is a guy who was important for this game. He finished the game at 31.8% from the field and recorded 1 assist. He played for 36 minutes and also snagged 12 boards. He notched 24 points on 7 of 22 shooting.

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Central Connecticut will play this contest with a win-loss mark of 9-6 for the season. They are turning it over 10.5 times per contest and as a unit are committing 12.5 personal fouls per game. As a unit, Central Connecticut is pulling down 36.2 boards per contest and is sitting with 228 dimes on the season, which has them ranked 256th in the nation in terms of passing. The Blue Devils are hitting 38.5% on 3-point shots (121 of 314) and 74.0% from the free throw line. They are averaging 77.7 pts per game (164th in college hoops) on 47.9% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Blue Devils are forcing their opponents into 10.7 turnovers every game while drawing 15.0 personal fouls. They concede 33.4% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 103rd in college in points per game allowed (70.7). The Blue Devils defense is giving up a FG percentage of 42.0% (390 of 928) and they surrender 33.9 boards per game as a team. They are ranked 83rd in the nation in allowing assists to their opponents with 210 relinquished for the season.

The last time they took the court, the Mercyhurst Lakers got the victory with a final of 70-69 when they played Wagner. The Lakers collected 27 defensive boards and 1 offensive boards for a total of 28 in the matchup. They also gave up possession of the ball 4 times, while recording 6 steals for the game. Wagner committed 16 fouls in the matchup which took the Lakers to the charity stripe for 21 tries. They were able to knock down 17 of those for a clip of 81.0%. When talking about 3-pointers, Mercyhurst converted 5 of 13 tries (38.5%). When the final whistle blew, the Lakers shot 24 for 49 from the floor which had them shooting 49.0%. The Lakers allowed Wagner to make 25 out of their 59 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.4% in this game. They finished 45.5% from three-point range by shooting 10 of 22 and ended up shooting 9 out of 16 from the free throw line (56.3%). When talking about how they attacked the glass, Mercyhurst allowed Wagner to snag 36 in all (10 on the offensive glass).

Bernie Blunt III ended up being a major contributor for the Lakers for the matchup. He buried 6 of 12 in this contest giving him a rate of 50.0%, and earned 4 rebounds. He scored 23 points in his 30 mins on the court and added 3 dimes in the game.

Mercyhurst has a win-loss record of 7-10 for the year. When it comes to offensive execution, the Lakers are hitting on 45.1% from the field, which is 201st in the country. Mercyhurst has accounted for 1,135 points for the year (66.8 per game) and they snag 31.4 boards per contest. They are getting an assist 14.3 times per contest (190th in D-1) and they cough up possession 10.5 times per contest. The Lakers have committed 17.9 personal fouls per contest and they hit 66.7% from the free throw line.

The Mercyhurst defense allows 34.4% on shots from beyond the perimeter (107 of 311) and their opponents are converting on 71.8% of their shots from the charity stripe. They give up 11.6 assists and 34.7 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is ranked 49th and 199th in Division 1. The Lakers are ranked 31st in college in PPG given up with 66.6. They are able to force 13.6 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.4% from the field (165th in the nation).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Central Connecticut

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