Eastern Kentucky Colonels vs North Florida Ospreys Prediction, 1/22/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Eastern Kentucky Colonels vs North Florida Ospreys

Date: Thursday, January 22, 2026

Location: UNF Arena in Jacksonville, FL

TV: ESPN+

The Eastern Kentucky Colonels (7-12) are hitting the road to UNF Arena on Thursday where they will meet the North Florida Ospreys (3-16).

The Eastern Kentucky Colonels faced off with Bellarmine and went home with a win by a final score of 89-69 in their last game. Eastern Kentucky ended the contest with a 52.8% field goal percentage (28 of 53) and converted 17 out of their 34 3-point attempts. When they shot from the free throw line, the Colonels buried 16 of their 21 tries for a rate of 76.2%. Concerning hauling in rebounds, they collected a total of 34 with 12 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 22 assists in this game in addition to creating 8 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In terms of defense, Eastern Kentucky allowed their opponent to shoot 40.0% from the field on 20 of 50 shooting. Bellarmine earned 14 assists and had 7 steals in the game. In addition, Bellarmine collected 21 boards (8 offensive, 13 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Bellarmine finished shooting 79.3% from the charity stripe by burying 23 of 29 attempts. They also converted 6 out of their 23 tries from 3-point range. In regard to personal fouls, the Colonels left the arena with 22 while Bellarmine totaled 18 personal fouls.

MJ Williams is a guy who played a role in this matchup. He finished the contest at 62.5% from the field and totaled 4 assists. He played for 21 minutes played but had no rebounds when the time ran out. He totaled 16 points on 5 of 8 shooting.

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Eastern Kentucky will enter this contest with a win-loss record of 7-12 on the year. They currently have an average of 80.1 pts per game (117th in college) while connecting on 43.4% from the field. The Colonels are shooting 35.2% on shots from beyond the arc (222 of 631) and 72.1% from the free throw line. As a unit, Eastern Kentucky is grabbing 37.0 boards per game and has racked up 276 dimes this year, which has them ranked 136th in college hoops in terms of passing. They are turning it over 12.1 times per game and as a squad they commit 18.1 fouls every game.

On defense, the Colonels have forced 11.8 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.5 personal fouls. They are relinquishing 34.2% from 3-point land and they are 315th in college in points per game allowed (79.5). The Colonels are allowing a field goal percentage of 47.2% (534 of 1,131) and they relinquish 35.9 boards per game as a squad. They currently rank 295th in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 280 relinquished on the season.

When they last stepped on the court, the North Florida Ospreys took a loss by a score of 98-69 when they played Central Arkansas. In regard to attacking the glass, North Florida allowed Central Arkansas to collect 36 overall (9 offensive). They finished 36.8% from three-point range by going 14 out of 38 and ended up shooting 14 of 18 at the free throw line (77.8%). The Ospreys permitted Central Arkansas to knock down 35 of their 70 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 50.0% for this contest. When the final whistle was blown, the Ospreys finished the game shooting 23 out of 55 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 41.8%. Regarding shots from beyond the perimeter, North Florida converted 11 of their 34 tries (32.4%). They were able to convert 12 of them for a rate of 66.7%. Central Arkansas committed 21 personal fouls for the contest which got the Ospreys to the charity stripe for 18 tries. They turned it over 13 times, while recording 2 steals in the matchup. The Ospreys pulled down 21 defensive boards and 4 offensive rebounds for a total of 25 in this contest.

Kent Jackson was important for the Ospreys for this game. He made 5 out of 15 for the game giving him a field goal percentage of 33.3%, and added 3 rebounds. He earned 13 points in his 30 minutes on the hardwood and had 2 dimes in this game.

North Florida has a win-loss record of 3-16 for the campaign. As an offense, the Ospreys are hitting on 44.3% from the field, which is ranked 246th in the nation. North Florida has scored 1,513 pts on the campaign (79.6 per game) and they pull in 31.4 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 14.6 times per game (166th in college) and they cough up possession 13.2 times per contest. The Ospreys commit 18.6 fouls every game while shooting 77.7% from the free throw line.

The Ospreys on defense are ranked 365th in college in points per game surrendered with 90.5. They are able to force 11.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 49.5% from the floor (356th in D-1). The North Florida defense gives up 34.3% on shots from beyond the arc (173 of 504) and their opponents are converting on 70.5% of their foul shots. They allow 17.5 assists and 41.4 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 356th and 362nd in those categories.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take North Florida

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