Evansville Purple Aces vs Belmont Bruins Prediction, 2/25/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Evansville Purple Aces vs Belmont Bruins

Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Location: Curb Event Center Arena in Nashville, TN

TV: ESPN+

The Belmont Bruins (25-4) are welcoming the Evansville Purple Aces (6-22) at Curb Event Center Arena on Wednesday.

The Evansville Purple Aces faced off with Murray State and ended up losing by a score of 88-75 in their last game. With respect to fouls, the Purple Aces ended up with 21 while Murray State totaled 15 fouls. They converted 14 of 36 attempts from 3-point land. Murray State finished 92.3% at the charity stripe by burying 24 of 26 attempts. In addition, Murray State pulled down 34 boards (8 offensive, 26 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Murray State doled out 16 dimes and had 8 steals for the matchup. When talking about defense, Evansville let their opponent shoot 41.7% from the field on 25 of 60 shooting. They also dished out 13 assists for this game while creating 7 turnovers and earning 3 steals. In relation to pulling down rebounds, they compiled a total of 23 with 2 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Purple Aces buried 5 of 6 attempts for a rate of 83.3%. Evansville walked away from the contest with a 48.3% field goal percentage (29 of 60) and converted 12 out of their 29 3-pointers.

AJ Casey is someone who was a factor in this contest. He was able to score 19 points on 8 of 18 shooting. He played 35 mins and also grabbed 3 rebounds. He finished the contest at 44.4% from the floor and totaled 4 dimes.

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Evansville enters this contest with a win-loss record of 6-22 so far this year. They currently have an average of 66.9 points per game (344th in the nation) while connecting on 42.7% from the field. The Purple Aces are connecting on 32.6% on shots from downtown (218 of 669) and 71.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Evansville is pulling in 31.5 boards per game and is sitting with 368 assists this season, which has them ranked 245th in college hoops in terms of passing. They turn it over 13.1 times per game and as a squad are committing 15.9 fouls every game.

Defensively, the Purple Aces are forcing 11.3 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.4 personal fouls. They are ranked 307th in Division 1 in giving up assists with 422 conceded on the season. The Purple Aces are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 45.7% (747 of 1,635) and they surrender 36.0 rebounds per game as a squad. They are giving up 36.3% on shots from downtown and they are ranked 236th in D-1 in points per game allowed (75.8).

When they last stepped on the court, the Belmont Bruins got the win with a final of 87-70 against Indiana State. In reference to rebounding, Belmont permitted Indiana State to collect 28 in total (5 on the offensive side). They went 30.0% from downtown by going 9 of 30 and finished the game at 7 of 8 at the free throw line (87.5%). The Bruins allowed Indiana State to knock down 27 of 62 tries from the field which had them at 43.5% in this game. When the final whistle was blown, the Bruins finished the game shooting 33 out of 65 from the floor which gave them a rate of 50.8%. In relation to shooting from downtown, Belmont converted 8 of 31 tries (25.8%). They were able to knock down 13 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 86.7%. Indiana State committed 12 fouls in the matchup which took the Bruins to the free throw line for a total of 15 attempts. They also turned it over 9 times, while getting 11 steals in the matchup. The Bruins snagged 25 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards totaling 31 for this game.

Jack Smiley was important for the Bruins in this game. He racked up 18 points in his 17 minutes on the hardwood and accumulated 3 dimes for this contest. He buried 6 of 11 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 54.5%, and had 1 rebound.

Belmont has a win-loss record of 25-4 on the year. On the offensive side of the court, the Bruins are shooting 51.6% from the floor, which is ranked 5th in Division 1. Belmont has accumulated 2,433 points for the year (83.9 per contest) and they snag 36.6 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 18.3 times per contest (12th in college) and they are losing possession via turnover 12.9 times per contest. The Bruins are responsible for committing 17.6 fouls every game while shooting 68.7% from the free throw line.

The Belmont defense surrenders 33.3% on three-point shots (290 of 870) and their opposition knocks down 74.7% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have relinquished 13.1 assists and 33.4 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks them 154th and 116th in the country. The Bruins defensively are ranked 135th in the nation in points allowed per game with 72.5. They are able to force 12.6 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 40.1% from the field (21st in D-1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Evansville

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