Drake Bulldogs vs Illinois State Redbirds Prediction, 2/6/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Drake Bulldogs vs Illinois State Redbirds

Date: Friday, February 6, 2026

Location: CEFCU Arena in Normal, IL

TV: ESPN+

The Drake Bulldogs (12-12) are hitting the road to CEFCU Arena on Friday where they will take on the Illinois State Redbirds (15-8).

The Drake Bulldogs stepped onto the hardwood against Belmont and went home with a loss by a final score of 103-90 in their last contest. When talking about fouls, the Bulldogs walked away with 18 and Belmont had 18 fouls. They also made 17 of their 35 attempts from 3-point land. Belmont shot 53.3% from the charity stripe by converting 8 of their 15 shots. Moreover, Belmont pulled down 24 boards (7 offensive, 17 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Belmont totaled 25 dimes and had 3 steals in this matchup. Regarding defense, Drake allowed the other team to go 59.1% from the field on 39 out of 66 shooting. They also doled out 19 assists in the game in addition to forcing the other team into 5 turnovers and earning 1 steal. Pertaining to grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 32 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. From the free throw line, the Bulldogs converted 12 of their 16 shots for a rate of 75.0%. Drake finished with a 53.3% field goal percentage (32 out of 60) and knocked down 14 of 28 3-point shots.

Jalen Quinn is one guy who played a role in this contest. He accounted for 22 points on 8 of 18 shooting. He was on the court for 33 mins and also pulled down 3 rebounds. He finished 44.4% from the field and also totaled 3 dimes.

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Drake comes into this contest with a record of 12-12 for the season. They are losing possession via turnover 10.1 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 17.0 personal fouls per game. As a team, Drake is grabbing 36.0 boards per game and has accounted for 333 assists so far this year, which ranks 150th in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Bulldogs are hitting 35.5% on 3-pointers (227 of 640) and 72.2% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 77.7 points per game (153rd in the nation) while shooting 45.1% from the floor.

On defense, the Bulldogs are forcing 10.8 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.8 personal fouls. They give up 35.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 198th in Division 1 in points per game allowed (74.3). The Bulldogs are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 43.5% (623 of 1,433) and they surrender 36.0 rebounds per game as a team. They are ranked 287th in college hoops in allowing assists with 343 conceded for the year.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Illinois State Redbirds took a defeat with a final score of 54-50 against Southern Illinois. The Redbirds were able to corral 24 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 31 in this contest. They gave up possession of the ball 12 times, while earning 6 steals in the game. Southern Illinois had 18 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Redbirds to the free throw line for a total of 10 tries. They were able to convert 6 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 60.0%. In the matter of three-point shots, Illinois State made 6 of 22 tries (27.3%). When the final whistle blew, the Redbirds walked away from this one shooting 19 for 60 from the field which gave them a percentage of 31.7%. The Redbirds allowed Southern Illinois to convert 21 out of their 52 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 40.4% in this game. They finished shooting 9.1% from distance by shooting 1 out of 11 and finished the game at 11 of 15 from the charity stripe (73.3%). In the matter of rebounding, Illinois State permitted Southern Illinois to snag 38 in all (5 on the offensive glass).

Chase Walker ended up having an impact for the Redbirds for the matchup. He converted 5 out of 13 in the matchup giving him a rate of 38.5%, and accumulated 4 rebounds. He earned 12 points in his 22 minutes on the court and had 1 assist in this matchup.

Illinois State has a win-loss record of 15-8 for the season. When it comes to executing on offense, the Redbirds are hitting on 46.9% from the field, which ranks them 89th in the country. Illinois State has earned 1,754 points so far this season (76.3 per game) and they grab 37.2 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 13.5 times per contest (227th in college) and they cough up possession 11.1 times per game. The Redbirds commit 17.3 fouls per contest and they connect on 69.0% from the charity stripe.

The Redbirds on defense are ranked 25th in the nation in points given up per game with 66.4. They are able to force 11.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 41.8% from the floor (69th in the nation). The Illinois State defense concedes 30.7% on 3-point shots (142 of 463) and their opposition makes 68.7% of their shots from the free throw line. They have surrendered 11.4 dimes and 32.3 rebounds per game, which is ranked 39th and 65th in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Drake

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