Central Connecticut Blue Devils vs Saint Francis Red Flash Prediction, 1/17/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Central Connecticut Blue Devils vs Saint Francis Red Flash

Date: Saturday, January 17, 2026

Location: DeGol Arena in Loretto, PA

TV: ESPN+

The Saint Francis Red Flash (4-13) are welcoming the Central Connecticut Blue Devils (9-6) at DeGol Arena on Saturday.

The Central Connecticut Blue Devils stepped onto the hardwood against Le Moyne and took home the win by a score of 69-59 in their last contest. Central Connecticut wrapped up the game with a 37.3% FG percentage (22 out of 59) and made 4 of 22 three-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Blue Devils buried 21 of their 26 attempts for a percentage of 80.8%. In regard to grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 42 with 11 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 8 assists for this contest while creating 13 turnovers and earning 7 steals. With regard to the defense, Central Connecticut allowed their opponent to shoot 32.3% from the field on 20 of 62 shooting. Le Moyne earned 7 dimes and had 6 steals for this contest. Moreover, Le Moyne grabbed 32 rebounds (9 offensive, 23 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Le Moyne ended up shooting 87.5% at the charity stripe by burying 14 of 16 shots. They also knocked down 5 of 27 shots from beyond the arc. When talking about fouls, the Blue Devils walked away with 16 and Le Moyne finished the game with 21 fouls.

Darin Smith Jr. is a guy who came through in this contest. He ended up shooting 31.8% from the field and totaled 1 assist. He saw the court for 36 mins and grabbed 12 boards. He ended up with 24 points on 7 out of 22 shooting.

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Central Connecticut heads into this matchup with a record of 9-6 on the season. They average 77.7 points per game (164th in the country) while going 47.9% from the field. The Blue Devils are hitting 38.5% on shots beyond the perimeter (121 of 314) and 74.0% from the free throw line. As a unit, Central Connecticut is grabbing 36.2 boards per game and is sitting with 228 dimes for the season, which is 256th in college hoops in terms of passing. They turn it over 10.5 times per contest and as a team are committing 12.5 personal fouls per game.

When they are on defense, the Blue Devils have forced 10.7 turnovers every game while drawing 15.0 fouls. They rank 83rd in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 210 surrendered so far this year. The Blue Devils defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 42.0% (390 of 928) and they surrender 33.9 rebounds per game as a squad. They are surrendering 33.4% on shots from downtown and they rank 103rd in Division 1 in points per game allowed (70.7).

When they last stepped on the court, the Saint Francis Red Flash took a defeat with a final score of 67-63 when they faced LIU. The Red Flash earned 19 defensive rebounds and 3 offensive rebounds for a total of 22 in this game. They also gave up possession of the ball 13 times, while getting 11 steals in the matchup. LIU earned 19 fouls in this matchup which took the Red Flash to the charity stripe for a total of 14 shots. They were able to make 8 of the free throws for a rate of 57.1%. Pertaining to 3-pointers, Saint Francis knocked down 9 of 18 tries (50.0%). When this game wrapped up, the Red Flash ended up shooting 23 out of 53 from the field which gave them a percentage of 43.4%. The Red Flash allowed LIU to convert 25 of 61 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 41.0% for the matchup. They went 16.7% from three-point range by hitting 2 of 12 and ended up going 15 of 25 from the free throw line (60.0%). When discussing attacking the glass, Saint Francis permitted LIU to snag 46 in total (21 on the offensive side).

Skylar Wicks was important for the Red Flash in the game. He tallied 21 points in his 31 minutes on the court and earned 1 assist for the game. He made 7 out of 15 for this game for a field goal rate of 46.7%, and accounted for 4 rebounds.

Saint Francis has a mark of 4-13 on the year. The Red Flash commit 17.9 fouls every game and they hit 70.6% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 13.6 times per game (231st in Division 1) and they are turning it over 13.5 times per contest. Saint Francis has scored 1,168 pts on the campaign (68.7 per contest) and they grab 33.1 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Red Flash are shooting 41.4% from the floor, which is ranked 332nd in the country.

The Saint Francis defense concedes 36.4% on shots from beyond the perimeter (159 of 437) and their opponents are making 69.8% of their shots from the free throw line. They have surrendered 17.3 assists and 38.1 rebounds every game, which is 354th and 336th in college hoops. The Red Flash defensively are ranked 338th in Division 1 in points given up per game with 81.8. They are able to force 13.0 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 48.3% from the field (349th in college hoops).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Central Connecticut

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