East Tennessee State Buccaneers vs VMI Keydets Prediction, 2/7/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: East Tennessee State Buccaneers vs VMI Keydets

Date: Saturday, February 7, 2026

Location: Cameron Hall in Lexington, VA

TV: ESPN+

Cameron Hall is the location where the VMI Keydets (6-18) will try to beat the East Tennessee State Buccaneers (17-7) on Saturday.

The East Tennessee State Buccaneers faced Furman and took home the win by a score of 75-71 in their last game. East Tennessee State wrapped up the contest having earned a 43.3% field goal percentage (26 of 60) and knocked down 7 of their 17 three-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Buccaneers converted 16 of their 22 attempts for a rate of 72.7%. In the matter of hauling in boards, they compiled 26 with 8 of them being offensive. They also recorded 12 assists for the game as well as forcing 19 turnovers and having 13 steals. Concerning the defense, East Tennessee State allowed 52.7% from the floor on 29 of 55 shooting. Furman totaled 15 assists and had 1 steal in this game. Furthermore, Furman pulled down 33 rebounds (7 offensive, 26 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Furman shot 60.0% from the free throw line by knocking down 6 of their 10 attempts. They also buried 7 out of their 26 attempts from three-point range. In regard to personal fouls, the Buccaneers ended up finishing with 16 and Furman accounted for 19 personal fouls.

Blake Barkley is a guy who was a major contributor for the matchup. He notched 15 points on 4 out of 13 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 42 minutes played and pulled down 4 rebounds. He ended up shooting 30.8% from the floor and dished out 3 dimes.

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East Tennessee State enters this game with a mark of 17-7 this year. They turn it over 10.0 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 16.0 personal fouls per game. As a team, East Tennessee State is snagging 34.2 boards per game and is sitting with 346 dimes on the year, which is 118th in college in terms of passing the ball. The Buccaneers are connecting on 33.9% on 3-point shots (178 of 525) and 76.3% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 78.5 pts per game (133rd in Division 1) while hitting 48.8% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Buccaneers are forcing 13.8 turnovers per game while drawing 15.1 fouls. They are surrendering 32.3% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 45th in Division 1 in PPG allowed (67.8). The Buccaneers are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 41.9% (560 of 1,336) and they surrender 32.0 rebounds per contest as a squad. They are ranked 202nd in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 311 surrendered this season.

When they last stepped on the court, the VMI Keydets took a loss by a final score of 81-67 against Wofford. The Keydets pulled down 26 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds totaling 32 for this game. They also turned it over 7 times, while earning 4 steals for the game. Wofford committed 19 fouls in this game which got the Keydets to the charity stripe for a total of 19 attempts. They were able to bury 14 of the free throws for a percentage of 73.7%. With regard to three-point shots, VMI converted 7 out of 24 attempts (29.2%). When the game finished, the Keydets walked away from this one shooting 23 out of 58 from the floor which had them sitting at 39.7%. The Keydets permitted Wofford to make 26 of their 57 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 45.6% in this contest. They finished the game shooting 36.7% from 3-point land by going 11 of 30 and finished the game at 18 of 24 from the free throw line (75.0%). When talking about team rebounding, VMI allowed Wofford to collect 37 overall (7 offensive).

TJ Johnson ended up having an impact for the Keydets in the game. He made 8 of 16 for this contest for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and had 12 rebounds. He had 25 points in his 40 mins on the court and added 2 dimes in the matchup.

VMI has a mark of 6-18 this year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Keydets are connecting on 40.2% from the field, which is 354th in the nation. VMI has totaled 1,742 points for the year (72.6 per contest) and they grab 34.5 boards per game. They are getting an assist 12.4 times per contest (298th in the country) and they lose possession via turnover 10.5 times per contest. The Keydets are committing 17.3 fouls per contest and they hit 71.6% from the free throw line.

The Keydets on the defensive side of the court are 298th in Division 1 in points per game surrendered with 78.3. They are forcing their opponents into 11.7 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 45.1% from the floor (244th in D-1). The VMI defense concedes 34.7% on 3-point shots (216 of 622) and their opposition knocks down 70.9% of their foul shots. They allow 17.0 assists and 41.0 boards every game, which is ranked 351st and 362nd in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take East Tennessee State

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