Eastern Illinois Panthers vs Lindenwood Lions Prediction, 2/26/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Eastern Illinois Panthers vs Lindenwood Lions

Date: Thursday, February 26, 2026

Location: Hyland Arena in Saint Charles, MO

TV: ESPN+

Hyland Arena is the site where the Lindenwood Lions (16-13) will attempt to beat the Eastern Illinois Panthers (11-18) on Thursday.

The Eastern Illinois Panthers took the court against Southern Indiana and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 70-68 in their last game. When talking about personal fouls, the Panthers walked away with 18 while Southern Indiana accounted for 16 personal fouls. They made 9 of their 17 tries from downtown. Southern Indiana finished 82.6% when shooting free throws by knocking down 19 of 23 attempts. Furthermore, Southern Indiana collected 28 boards (7 offensive, 21 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Southern Indiana recorded 15 assists and had 4 steals in the matchup. When it comes to the defense, Eastern Illinois allowed their opponent to shoot 41.2% from the floor on 21 of 51 shooting. They also recorded 13 dimes for the contest in addition to forcing 11 turnovers and earning 7 steals. When discussing pulling down boards, they earned 39 with 18 of them being offensive. When they shot from the free throw line, the Panthers buried 15 of 19 shots for a rate of 78.9%. Eastern Illinois finished having earned a 39.1% field goal percentage (25 of 64) and knocked down 3 of their 10 shots from 3-point land.

Zion Fruster is one player who was important in this matchup. He recorded 28 points on 12 out of 19 shooting. He saw the court for 37 mins played and totaled 3 boards. He finished the game at 63.2% from the floor but had no assists when the time ran out.

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Eastern Illinois enters this matchup with a win-loss mark of 11-18 for the year. They turn it over 12.6 times per contest and as a unit they commit 16.6 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Eastern Illinois is grabbing 33.0 rebounds per game and has accounted for 361 dimes this year, which is 254th in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Panthers are hitting 32.0% on shots from downtown (159 of 497) and 74.0% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 67.3 points per contest (343rd in the country) while going 42.6% from the field.

When they are on the defensive end, the Panthers are forcing their opponents into 13.6 turnovers per contest and they draw 15.9 personal fouls. They are surrendering 30.7% on shots from downtown and they are 86th in college in points per game allowed (70.3). The Panthers defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 43.4% (705 of 1,623) and they concede 35.0 rebounds per game as a team. They are ranked 274th in D-1 in giving up assists with 407 conceded on the year.

For their last game, the Lindenwood Lions walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 72-57 when they played Tennessee Tech. When it comes to cleaning the glass, Lindenwood permitted Tennessee Tech to collect 35 overall (7 offensive). They went 38.1% from distance via 8 out of 21 and ended up going 14 out of 16 from the free throw line (87.5%). The Lions permitted Tennessee Tech to make 25 out of their 54 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.3% in the game. When all was said and done, the Lions finished shooting 21 for 57 from the floor which gave them a rate of 36.8%. With respect to shots from beyond the perimeter, Lindenwood converted 9 out of 24 attempts (37.5%). They were able to knock down 6 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 75.0%. Tennessee Tech was called for 8 fouls in the game which took the Lions to the free throw line for 8 tries. They also gave up possession of the ball 12 times, while recording 2 steals in this game. The Lions recorded 22 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 28 in the matchup.

Mekhi Cooper ended up having an impact for the Lions in this contest. He made 5 of 11 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 45.5%, and accounted for 1 rebound. He tallied 15 points in his 36 minutes on the court and added 3 assists for the contest.

Lindenwood has a mark of 16-13 this year. On the offensive side of the court, the Lions are connecting on 46.2% from the floor, which has them ranked 127th in college hoops. Lindenwood has accumulated 2,270 points this season (78.3 per contest) and they average 38.6 rebounds per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 15.0 times per game (113th in the country) and they are turning it over 13.9 times per contest. The Lions commit 17.0 fouls per contest while shooting 68.4% from the charity stripe.

The Lindenwood defense gives up 30.3% on 3-point attempts (180 of 595) and opponents are knocking down 67.2% of their shots from the charity stripe. They concede 12.4 assists and 36.9 boards per game, which ranks them 104th and 315th in the nation. The Lions on the defensive end are ranked 168th in college hoops in PPG given up with 73.4. They have forced 14.4 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.7% from the floor (95th in the nation).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Lindenwood and under the total points

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