Eastern Illinois Panthers vs Morehead State Eagles Prediction, 1/24/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Eastern Illinois Panthers vs Morehead State Eagles

Date: Saturday, January 24, 2026

Location: Ellis T. Johnson Arena in Morehead, KY

TV: ESPN+

The Morehead State Eagles (10-10) are hosting the Eastern Illinois Panthers (9-11) at Ellis T. Johnson Arena on Saturday.

The Eastern Illinois Panthers stepped onto the hardwood against Southern Indiana and notched a win by a score of 59-51 in their last game. When it comes to fouls, the Panthers left the arena with 21 while Southern Indiana racked up 17 fouls. They converted 4 of 28 shots from beyond the arc. Southern Indiana finished the game at 70.4% from the free throw line by converting 19 of 27 shots. Furthermore, Southern Indiana pulled down 39 rebounds (10 offensive, 29 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Southern Indiana distributed 4 dimes and had 3 steals in the matchup. Concerning defense, Eastern Illinois allowed their opponent to shoot 24.6% from the field on 14 of 57 shooting. They also recorded 3 assists for this game in addition to forcing the other team into 17 turnovers and having 7 steals. In terms of grabbing rebounds, they compiled 35 with 5 of them being of the offensive variety. When they shot from the free throw line, the Panthers converted 17 of 22 shots for a percentage of 77.3%. Eastern Illinois finished having earned a 36.4% field goal percentage (20 out of 55) and buried 2 of their 12 3-pointers.

Zion Fruster is someone who was a major factor in this game. He scored 25 points on 8 of 18 shooting. He played for 39 minutes and pulled down 7 rebounds. He ended up shooting 44.4% from the floor and also earned 2 dimes.

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Eastern Illinois enters this game with a win-loss mark of 9-11 for the season. They turn it over 13.3 times per game and as a group they commit 16.3 fouls every game. As a unit, Eastern Illinois is collecting 33.3 boards per game and has totaled 256 assists on the campaign, which is 249th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Panthers are shooting 31.4% on shots from 3-point land (111 of 353) and 74.4% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 67.2 pts per contest (341st in the nation) while connecting on 43.4% from the floor.

On defense, the Panthers have forced 13.5 turnovers every game and they draw 15.4 fouls. They are currently ranked 249th in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 278 conceded so far this season. The Panthers defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 42.0% (483 of 1,151) and they relinquish 35.8 boards per game as a squad. They are conceding 28.7% on shots from distance while they are 75th in college in PPG from their opponents (69.5).

In their last game, the Morehead State Eagles went home victorious with a score of 71-66 against Western Illinois. Regarding cleaning the glass, Morehead State permitted Western Illinois to collect 26 overall (6 on the offensive glass). They finished shooting 41.7% from three-point range by going 10 of 24 and ended up shooting 6 of 13 from the charity stripe (46.2%). The Eagles allowed Western Illinois to convert 25 of 61 attempts from the field which had them shooting 41.0% in this contest. In all, the Eagles ended up going 29 out of 66 from the field which gave them a percentage of 43.9%. Concerning shooting from 3-point land, Morehead State knocked down 3 out of their 16 attempts (18.8%). They were able to make 10 of the free throw tries for a clip of 50.0%. Western Illinois was called for 16 fouls in this matchup which got the Eagles to the charity stripe for 20 shots. They coughed up the ball 10 times, while getting 4 steals in the game. The Eagles recorded 27 defensive rebounds and 21 offensive boards for a total of 48 for the game.

Davion Cunningham ended up having an impact for the Eagles for this game. He made 7 of 12 in this game for a field goal rate of 58.3%, and totaled 6 rebounds. He racked up 18 points in his 28 mins on the court and had 2 dimes in the matchup.

Morehead State has a record of 10-10 for the season. As an offense, the Eagles are hitting on 46.1% from the floor, which is 142nd in the nation. Morehead State has earned 1,541 points for the campaign (77.1 per contest) and they snag 37.4 rebounds per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 14.8 times per game (145th in Division 1) and they are turning it over 12.3 times per game. The Eagles commit 17.6 personal fouls per game while shooting 70.9% from the charity stripe.

The Morehead State defense concedes 35.1% on shots from distance (171 of 487) and their opponents are converting on 68.4% of their foul shots. They have relinquished 16.1 dimes and 34.2 rebounds every game, which is 327th and 167th in college. The Eagles on the defensive end are ranked 283rd in Division 1 in PPG surrendered with 77.5. They are able to force 11.5 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 45.2% from the floor (264th in college).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Eastern Illinois

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