Eastern Illinois Panthers vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish Prediction, 11/9/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Eastern Illinois Panthers vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Date: Monday, November 9, 2026

Location: Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, IN

TV: ESPN+

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2-0) will try to beat the Eastern Illinois Panthers (0-2) at Purcell Pavilion on Monday.

The Eastern Illinois Panthers took the court against Iowa and ended up losing by a score of 91-47 in their last game. In reference to personal fouls, the Panthers ended up finishing with 16 and Iowa accumulated 17 personal fouls. They also buried 14 of 30 shots from downtown. Iowa finished shooting 64.7% at the charity stripe by converting 11 of their 17 tries. Additionally, Iowa snagged 38 rebounds (9 offensive, 29 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Iowa recorded 25 assists and had 11 steals for this game. Concerning defending, Eastern Illinois allowed the other team to go 63.5% from the floor on 33 out of 52 shooting. They also doled out 10 dimes for the matchup as well as forcing 15 turnovers and having 8 steals. Pertaining to grabbing boards, they earned 20 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. From the charity stripe, the Panthers made 13 of 20 shots for a percentage of 65.0%. Eastern Illinois ended the contest having earned a 32.7% FG percentage (17 out of 52) and converted 0 of their 7 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Tanner Vogel is someone who played a role in the matchup. He finished the contest at 50.0% from the floor but didn't record a dime. He saw the court for 17 mins and also pulled down 11 boards. He notched 11 points on 4 out of 8 shooting.

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Eastern Illinois comes into this contest with a win-loss record of 0-2 on the season. They are averaging 52.0 pts per game (358th in D-1) while hitting 41.2% from the field. The Panthers are shooting 14.3% on three-point shots (3 of 21) and 63.0% from the free throw line. As a team, Eastern Illinois is grabbing 25.0 rebounds per contest and has 23 dimes so far this year, which ranks 208th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession by turning the ball over 17.5 times per game and as a group they commit 19.0 fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Panthers are forcing 13.0 turnovers per contest while drawing 14.0 personal fouls. They currently rank 344th in college hoops in giving up assists with 38 conceded on the year. The Panthers defensively are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 56.4% (62 of 110) and they surrender 36.5 rebounds per game as a team. They are relinquishing 42.6% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 330th in college in PPG from their opponents (91.0).

When they last played, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish walked away with a victory by a final of 83-56 against Mercyhurst. The Fighting Irish collected 26 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards totaling 33 in this matchup. They coughed up the ball 12 times, while getting 5 steals in this contest. Mercyhurst had 16 fouls in the matchup which got the Fighting Irish to the free throw line for 14 attempts. They were able to convert 12 of the free throws for a clip of 85.7%. With regard to 3-point shots, Notre Dame knocked down 15 of 32 tries (46.9%). When the final whistle was blown, the Fighting Irish shot 28 for 52 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 53.8%. The Fighting Irish allowed Mercyhurst to make 19 out of 51 attempts from the floor which left them shooting 37.3% in this matchup. They wrapped up this game 29.2% from distance by shooting 7 of 24 and finished the game at 11 of 14 from the charity stripe (78.6%). Concerning how they cleaned up the glass, Notre Dame permitted Mercyhurst to pull down 20 in total (5 on the offensive side).

Brady Koehler ended up being a major contributor for the Fighting Irish in this matchup. He knocked down 6 of 7 for the game giving him a rate of 85.7%, and accounted for 6 rebounds. He scored 17 points in his 22 mins on the court and had 1 assist for this contest.

Notre Dame has a win-loss mark of 2-0 for the year. The Fighting Irish commit 15.5 fouls per game and they hit 79.5% from the charity stripe. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 14.5 times per game (209th in college hoops) and they lose possession via turnover 12.0 times per contest. Notre Dame has totaled 157 points on the year and they average 36.0 rebounds per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Fighting Irish are shooting 43.6% from the floor, which is ranked 225th in the country.

The Notre Dame defense surrenders 32.7% on 3-point attempts (18 of 55) and opponents are knocking down 75.0% of their free throw attempts. They surrender 12.0 assists and 29.5 rebounds per game, which has them ranked 176th and 72nd in those categories. The Fighting Irish defensively are ranked 122nd in D-1 in points given up per game with 64.0. They are able to force 15.5 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 41.7% from the floor (192nd in D-1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Eastern Illinois

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