Chicago State Cougars vs Central Connecticut Blue Devils Prediction, 2/5/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Chicago State Cougars vs Central Connecticut Blue Devils

Date: Thursday, February 5, 2026

Location: Detrick Gymnasium in New Britain, CT

TV: ESPN+

The Central Connecticut Blue Devils (11-10) are welcoming the Chicago State Cougars (3-19) at Detrick Gymnasium on Thursday.

The Chicago State Cougars faced Mercyhurst and went home with a win by a final score of 78-74 in their last contest. In the matter of personal fouls, the Cougars ended up finishing with 18 while Mercyhurst totaled 24 personal fouls. They buried 6 of 22 tries from 3-point land. Mercyhurst finished the game at 71.4% when shooting free throws by making 10 of their 14 shots. Moreover, Mercyhurst collected 29 boards (8 offensive, 21 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Mercyhurst totaled 20 dimes and had 7 steals for this game. In relation to the defense, Chicago State allowed 48.3% from the field on 29 out of 60 shooting. They also distributed 18 assists in this game as well as forcing 10 turnovers and earning 4 steals. Concerning pulling down rebounds, they collected 34 with 12 of them being of the offensive sort. From the free throw line, the Cougars converted 19 of 30 tries for a rate of 63.3%. Chicago State walked away from the game having earned a 44.6% FG percentage (25 of 56) and converted 9 of their 21 3-pointers.

CJ Ray is a player who was important for the contest. He finished the contest at 65.0% from the floor and also distributed 1 assist. He was on the court for 38 minutes and also pulled down 10 rebounds. He ended up with 37 points on 13 out of 20 shooting.

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Chicago State enters this contest with a record of 3-19 on the season. They average 65.6 points per outing (350th in college hoops) while going 39.5% from the field. The Cougars are shooting 32.1% on shots from downtown (125 of 389) and 73.9% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Chicago State is snagging 31.7 rebounds per game and is sitting with 235 dimes for the campaign, which is 356th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 11.6 times per game and as a team they commit 19.3 fouls per game.

On defense, the Cougars are forcing 13.3 turnovers every game and they draw 15.5 fouls. They currently rank 362nd in college hoops in giving up assists with 427 surrendered for the year. The Cougars are allowing a FG percentage of 47.8% (589 of 1,233) and they concede 37.2 rebounds per game as a team. They relinquish 35.2% on shots from distance and they are 314th in college in opponents PPG (79.3).

When they last played, the Central Connecticut Blue Devils took a defeat with a final score of 80-59 when they played LIU. In the matter of cleaning the glass, Central Connecticut permitted LIU to grab 34 overall (8 offensive). They shot 46.7% from behind the 3-point line by going 7 out of 15 and ended up going 19 of 25 from the free throw line (76.0%). The Blue Devils allowed LIU to bury 27 out of their 54 attempts from the field which had them shooting 50.0% for this contest. In all, the Blue Devils went 19 for 59 from the floor which had them shooting 32.2%. In regard to three-point shots, Central Connecticut knocked down 6 of their 25 attempts (24.0%). They were able to knock down 15 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 93.8%. LIU was called for 17 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Blue Devils to the free throw line for 16 shots. They gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while getting 6 steals in this game. The Blue Devils snagged 18 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive boards totaling 24 in the matchup.

Jay Rodgers ended up having an impact for the Blue Devils for the contest. He racked up 14 points in his 34 mins of playing time and added 8 dimes for this contest. He converted 3 of 10 for the game giving him a field goal percentage of 30.0%, and added 2 rebounds.

Central Connecticut has a record of 11-10 on the year. As an offense, the Blue Devils are hitting on 46.9% from the floor, which ranks 93rd in the country. Central Connecticut has tallied 1,571 points for the campaign (74.8 per contest) and they average 34.7 rebounds per contest. They are dishing out assists 14.3 times per contest (167th in college hoops) and they are losing possession via turnover 10.4 times per contest. The Blue Devils commit 13.3 fouls per contest and they go 75.9% from the free throw line.

The Blue Devils on defense are ranked 121st in Division 1 in points given up per game with 71.5. They are able to force 9.9 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 43.1% from the field (146th in college). The Central Connecticut defense surrenders 34.0% on shots from distance (179 of 526) and opponents are knocking down 73.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They surrender 14.7 dimes and 33.9 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is 274th and 142nd in those defensive categories.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Chicago State

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