Eastern Kentucky Colonels vs Jacksonville Dolphins Prediction, 1/24/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Eastern Kentucky Colonels vs Jacksonville Dolphins

Date: Saturday, January 24, 2026

Location: Swisher Gymnasium in Jacksonville, FL

TV: ESPN+

The Jacksonville Dolphins (7-13) are hosting the Eastern Kentucky Colonels (7-13) at Swisher Gymnasium on Saturday.

The Eastern Kentucky Colonels faced off with North Florida and took a loss by a score of 87-85 in their last contest. When talking about fouls, the Colonels finished with 17 while North Florida recorded 16 fouls. They made 10 of 27 tries from beyond the perimeter. North Florida finished 76.5% when shooting free throws by burying 13 of their 17 attempts. Furthermore, North Florida pulled down 31 rebounds (11 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. North Florida recorded 13 dimes and had 7 steals in the game. Concerning defending, Eastern Kentucky allowed 50.8% from the field on 32 out of 63 shooting. They also dished out 14 dimes in this matchup while forcing 12 turnovers and having 6 steals. When discussing grabbing boards, they earned 31 with 13 of them being on the offensive end. When they shot from the free throw line, the Colonels knocked down 7 of 15 attempts for a percentage of 46.7%. Eastern Kentucky ended the contest with a 49.3% FG percentage (33 out of 67) and converted 12 of their 28 three-point attempts.

Montavious Myrick is one player who was important in this game. He finished 72.7% from the floor and earned 1 assist. He played for 30 mins and also totaled 6 boards. He ended up finishing with 19 points on 8 out of 11 shooting.

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Eastern Kentucky will enter this matchup with a win-loss record of 7-13 this year. They average 80.3 points per contest (108th in college) while going 43.8% from the floor. The Colonels are shooting 35.5% on shots from 3-point land (234 of 659) and 71.0% from the charity stripe. As a team, Eastern Kentucky is pulling in 36.9 boards per game and is sitting with 290 assists so far this season, which is 139th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They are turning it over 12.1 times per contest and as a team they are committing 18.1 fouls per contest.

On defense, the Colonels have forced 11.9 turnovers every game and they draw 16.5 fouls. They are ranked 285th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 293 relinquished on the season. The Colonels defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 47.4% (566 of 1,194) and they relinquish 36.1 rebounds per contest as a team. They are relinquishing 34.4% on shots from distance and they rank 321st in D-1 in PPG allowed (79.9).

For their last game, the Jacksonville Dolphins went home defeated by a final of 77-70 against Bellarmine. The Dolphins pulled down 18 defensive rebounds and 5 offensive boards totaling 23 for the game. They also turned it over 8 times, while earning 6 steals for this contest. Bellarmine was called for 13 fouls for the game which got the Dolphins to the charity stripe for a total of 17 attempts. They were able to bury 17 of them for a percentage of 100.0%. In regard to three-point shots, Jacksonville buried 7 of their 21 tries (33.3%). In all, the Dolphins ended up going 23 for 50 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.0%. The Dolphins allowed Bellarmine to make 28 out of 52 tries from the field which left them shooting 53.8% for the game. They wrapped up this game 52.9% from three-point range by shooting 9 of 17 and finished the game at 12 out of 14 at the free throw line (85.7%). In the matter of cleaning up the glass, Jacksonville permitted Bellarmine to snag 24 in total (5 on the offensive glass).

Hayden Wood was important for the Dolphins for the contest. He had 21 points in his 29 minutes on the court, but wasn't able to get an assist. He buried 7 out of 11 in this matchup for a field goal rate of 63.6%, and had 1 rebound.

Jacksonville has a record of 7-13 this year. The Dolphins commit 18.6 fouls every game and they connect on 69.3% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 13.2 times per game (258th in Division 1) and they turn it over 12.1 times per contest. Jacksonville has earned 1,459 points on the season (73.0 per game) and they snag 34.2 boards per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Dolphins are hitting on 45.0% from the floor, which ranks 207th in the country.

The Dolphins on the defensive side of the court are 162nd in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 72.9. They are forcing 11.4 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 46.2% from the floor (301st in college hoops). The Jacksonville defense concedes 34.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter (137 of 401) and opponents are making 71.7% of their foul shots. They have conceded 13.2 dimes and 31.2 boards per game, which has them ranked 169th and 32nd in those categories.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Jacksonville

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