Eastern Illinois Panthers vs Little Rock Trojans Prediction, 1/15/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Eastern Illinois Panthers vs Little Rock Trojans

Date: Thursday, January 15, 2026

Location: Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock, AR

TV: ESPN+

The Eastern Illinois Panthers (7-10) are en route to Jack Stephens Center on Thursday where they will take on the Little Rock Trojans (7-10).

The Eastern Illinois Panthers faced off with Western Illinois and went home with a win by a final score of 57-55 in their last contest. In reference to personal fouls, the Panthers ended up finishing with 17 while Western Illinois had 18 personal fouls. They buried 2 of their 15 tries from three-point range. Western Illinois went 83.3% from the charity stripe by burying 15 of 18 tries. Additionally, Western Illinois pulled down 35 rebounds (10 offensive, 25 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Western Illinois earned 10 dimes and had 7 steals in this matchup. In terms of defense, Eastern Illinois let their opponent shoot 31.7% from the floor on 19 out of 60 shooting. They also dished out 11 dimes in this matchup in addition to forcing 12 turnovers and earning 8 steals. With respect to getting rebounds, they earned a total of 32 with 7 of them being of the offensive variety. From the charity stripe, the Panthers converted 18 of 23 attempts for a rate of 78.3%. Eastern Illinois wrapped up the contest having earned a 37.3% field goal percentage (19 of 51) and converted 1 of their 9 3-point attempts.

Terry McMorris is one player who had an impact in the game. He finished 45.5% from the field and also earned 3 assists. He played for 32 mins played and also pulled down 4 boards. He ended up walking away with 12 points on 5 out of 11 shooting.

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Eastern Illinois will enter this game with a record of 7-10 for the season. They have an average of 65.7 points per outing (347th in Division 1) while going 42.1% from the field. The Panthers are shooting 30.5% from downtown (92 of 302) and 74.0% from the free throw line. As a unit, Eastern Illinois is snagging 32.9 rebounds per game and has earned 217 dimes on the campaign, which ranks 272nd in D-1 in terms of passing. They turn it over 13.2 times per game and as a team they commit 16.6 personal fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Panthers are forcing 12.8 turnovers per contest while drawing 15.8 fouls. They are 258th in Division 1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 246 surrendered this season. The Panthers defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 43.1% (425 of 985) and they relinquish 36.4 boards per contest as a unit. They are giving up 28.7% on shots from distance and they rank 128th in the nation in PPG allowed (71.5).

In their last game, the Little Rock Trojans walked away with a victory by a final of 82-74 against Lindenwood. In reference to attacking the glass, Little Rock permitted Lindenwood to collect 23 overall (9 on the offensive side). They finished the game shooting 28.0% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 7 of 25 and finished the contest at 11 out of 14 from the free throw line (78.6%). The Trojans allowed Lindenwood to make 28 out of their 57 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 49.1% in this contest. When the final whistle blew, the Trojans went 33 out of 62 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 53.2%. Concerning shots from beyond the perimeter, Little Rock buried 4 of 16 attempts (25.0%). They were able to knock down 12 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 85.7%. Lindenwood committed 15 fouls in the game which got the Trojans to the free throw line for a total of 14 shots. They also turned the ball over 11 times, while getting 11 steals in this game. The Trojans snagged 17 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive boards for a total of 30 in the game.

Braxton Bayless ended up being a factor for the Trojans in the matchup. He racked up 21 points in his 38 mins on the hardwood and had 7 dimes in this game. He buried 8 out of 14 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 57.1%, and accumulated 7 rebounds.

Little Rock has a win-loss record of 7-10 on the season. The Trojans commit 15.4 fouls per contest while shooting 64.3% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 14.5 times per game (173rd in college) and they turn it over 15.0 times per contest. Little Rock has earned 1,203 pts for the season (70.8 per contest) and they grab 32.8 boards per game. As an offense, the Trojans are connecting on 46.0% from the floor, which ranks them 150th in the country.

The Trojans are ranked 274th in college hoops in PPG given up with 77.0. They are forcing 14.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 47.0% from the field (322nd in D-1). The Little Rock defense gives up 37.6% on shots from behind the 3-point line (160 of 426) and opponents are making 70.4% of their foul shots. They concede 15.1 assists and 34.8 total boards per game, which has them ranked 286th and 200th in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Eastern Illinois

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