East Texas A&M Lions vs UT Rio Grande Vaqueros Prediction, 2/28/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: East Texas A&M Lions vs UTRGV Vaqueros

Date: Saturday, February 28, 2026

Location: UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg, TX

TV: ESPN+

The East Texas A&M Lions (11-19) are traveling to UTRGV Fieldhouse on Saturday where they will take on the UTRGV Vaqueros (16-13).

The East Texas A&M Lions faced Houston Christian and ended up losing by a score of 69-68 in their last contest. East Texas A&M walked away from the game having earned a 45.1% field goal percentage (23 out of 51) and made 9 out of their 24 shots from 3-point land. At the charity stripe, the Lions made 13 of 17 shots for a rate of 76.5%. When talking about grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 30 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 14 assists for this contest as well as creating 11 turnovers and earning 10 steals. With respect to defending, East Texas A&M allowed the other team to shoot 44.3% from the field on 27 out of 61 shooting. Houston Christian doled out 14 assists and had 9 steals for this game. Furthermore, Houston Christian collected 31 rebounds (13 offensive, 18 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Houston Christian ended up going 66.7% from the free throw line by making 10 of their 15 attempts. They also made 5 out of their 19 shots from distance. In relation to fouls, the Lions left the arena with 14 while Houston Christian recorded 14 fouls.

Gianni Hunt is a player who had an impact for this game. He ended up shooting 50.0% from the floor and dished out 3 dimes. He saw the court for 34 minutes and also grabbed 4 boards. He walked away with 25 points on 6 out of 12 shooting.

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East Texas A&M enters this matchup with a win-loss mark of 11-19 this year. They lose possession via turnover 13.2 times per game and as a squad they commit 17.1 personal fouls every game. As a team, East Texas A&M is pulling in 33.5 rebounds per game and has accounted for 488 assists on the year, which has them ranked 33rd in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. The Lions are shooting 32.5% on shots from beyond the arc (259 of 798) and 68.5% from the free throw line. They have an average of 70.7 pts per game (304th in college) while hitting 43.4% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Lions are forcing their opponents into 12.4 turnovers per contest while drawing 14.9 personal fouls. They currently rank 310th in D-1 in allowing assists with 438 conceded this year. The Lions defense is giving up an opponent FG percentage of 44.6% (787 of 1,765) and they concede 37.0 boards per game as a squad. They are giving up 36.4% on shots from distance while they are 210th in the country in opponents PPG (74.6).

The last time they took the court, the UTRGV Vaqueros took a loss by a final score of 75-68 when they played McNeese State. Regarding cleaning up the glass, UT Rio Grande allowed McNeese State to pull down 32 in total (11 on the offensive side). They shot 22.2% from downtown via 4 of 18 and finished the game at 21 of 29 at the free throw line (72.4%). The Vaqueros allowed McNeese State to convert 25 of their 58 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 43.1% in the matchup. When the final whistle was blown, the Vaqueros ended up shooting 25 for 50 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 50.0%. Regarding shooting from beyond the arc, UT Rio Grande made 8 out of 27 attempts (29.6%). They were able to knock down 10 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 58.8%. McNeese State was called for 15 fouls in this game which got the Vaqueros to the free throw line for a total of 17 shots. They coughed up the ball 16 times, while getting 6 steals for this contest. The Vaqueros pulled down 24 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive boards for a total of 28 in the matchup.

Filip Brankovic ended up being a factor for the Vaqueros in this game. He buried 7 out of 11 for the game giving him a rate of 63.6%, and tallied 3 rebounds. He earned 15 points in his 29 minutes of playing time and accounted for 1 assist for the contest.

UT Rio Grande has a mark of 16-13 so far this year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Vaqueros are shooting 47.2% from the floor, which is ranked 67th in the nation. UT Rio Grande has totaled 2,202 pts on the year (75.9 per contest) and they average 34.8 rebounds per contest. They are dishing out assists 16.7 times per game (42nd in college hoops) and they are turning it over 11.8 times per contest. The Vaqueros are responsible for committing 18.0 personal fouls every game and they hit 75.6% from the free throw line.

The Vaqueros are ranked 73rd in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 69.8. They are forcing 11.2 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 41.6% from the floor (57th in D-1). The UT Rio Grande defense allows 30.8% on shots from beyond the arc (200 of 650) and their opponents are knocking down 70.0% of their free throw attempts. They relinquish 13.8 dimes and 33.9 total boards per game, which is ranked 216th and 146th in those categories.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take East Texas A&M

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