Drake Bulldogs vs UIC Flames Prediction, 1/17/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Drake Bulldogs vs UIC Flames

Date: Saturday, January 17, 2026

Location: Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago, IL

TV: ESPN+

The Drake Bulldogs (9-9) are traveling to Credit Union 1 Arena on Saturday where they will try to beat the UIC Flames (8-10).

The Drake Bulldogs faced Southern Illinois and walked away with a win by a score of 76-73 in their last game. Regarding fouls, the Bulldogs ended up finishing with 19 and Southern Illinois finished the game with 20 fouls. They also converted 3 out of their 26 tries from beyond the perimeter. Southern Illinois finished the game shooting 66.7% at the free throw line by knocking down 16 of their 24 tries. Additionally, Southern Illinois pulled down 44 rebounds (14 offensive, 30 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Southern Illinois doled out 13 dimes and had 10 steals in this matchup. When talking about the defense, Drake allowed 36.0% from the field on 27 of 75 shooting. They also doled out 15 assists for the contest as well as forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and getting 5 steals. Pertaining to getting rebounds, they compiled 41 with 7 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Bulldogs converted 18 of their 25 attempts for a rate of 72.0%. Drake wrapped up the game having earned a 40.3% FG percentage (25 of 62) and converted 8 of 34 shots from 3-point land.

Eli Shetlar is someone who was a contributor in this matchup. He went 69.2% from the field and earned 1 assist. He was on the hardwood for 37 minutes and grabbed 3 rebounds. He left the arena with 26 points on 9 out of 13 shooting.

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Drake heads into this contest with a mark of 9-9 for the campaign. They are averaging 76.4 pts per game (195th in Division 1) while hitting 45.2% from the field. The Bulldogs are shooting 36.2% on shots beyond the perimeter (175 of 484) and 71.8% from the free throw line. As a team, Drake is pulling down 35.8 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 261 dimes for the campaign, which has them ranked 140th in D-1 in terms of passing. They turn it over 10.4 times per game and as a group they are committing 16.4 fouls per game.

Defensively, the Bulldogs have forced 10.9 turnovers every game and they draw 16.6 personal fouls. They are relinquishing 33.8% on three-point shots and they are ranked 126th in the country in points per game allowed (71.6). The Bulldogs are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 41.9% (450 of 1,074) and they surrender 36.5 rebounds per game as a group. They are ranked 219th in the nation in allowing assists to the opposition with 240 conceded for the year.

The last time they took the court, the UIC Flames went home victorious with a score of 69-61 when they faced UNI. When talking about cleaning the glass, UIC allowed UNI to collect 32 overall (11 offensive). They shot 12.5% from 3-point land by shooting 3 of 24 and ended up shooting 14 out of 16 from the free throw line (87.5%). The Flames permitted UNI to make 22 of 56 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 39.3% in the game. At the conclusion of this game, the Flames finished shooting 28 out of 53 from the field which gave them a percentage of 52.8%. In regard to 3-point shots, UIC buried 3 out of their 14 attempts (21.4%). They were able to make 10 of them for a rate of 55.6%. UNI earned 19 fouls in this matchup which got the Flames to the charity stripe for a total of 18 attempts. They also turned it over 5 times, while recording 6 steals for the matchup. The Flames were able to pull down 20 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards totaling 25 for the matchup.

Abdul Momoh was important for the Flames for this game. He racked up 21 points in his 27 mins on the hardwood, but didn't get an assist. He knocked down 9 of 9 in the matchup giving him a rate of 100.0%, and accumulated 4 rebounds.

UIC has a win-loss record of 8-10 this season. When it comes to offense, the Flames are shooting 44.5% from the field, which has them ranked 234th in the nation. UIC has accumulated 1,349 points on the campaign (74.9 per contest) and they pull down 36.3 boards per contest. They are assisting teammates 14.1 times per game (198th in college) and they cough up possession 12.7 times per game. The Flames have committed 17.7 fouls per contest while shooting 75.3% from the charity stripe.

The UIC defense surrenders 32.1% on 3-pointers (143 of 446) and their opponents are converting on 76.6% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 15.9 assists and 33.8 rebounds per game, which is 324th and 138th in college hoops. The Flames on the defensive end are ranked 117th in college hoops in PPG surrendered with 71.2. They are able to force 14.1 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 42.1% from the floor (107th in college hoops).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Drake

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