Evansville Purple Aces vs Drake Bulldogs Prediction, 1/28/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Evansville Purple Aces vs Drake Bulldogs

Date: Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Location: Knapp Center in Des Moines, IA

TV: ESPN+

Knapp Center is where the Drake Bulldogs (11-10) will try to beat the Evansville Purple Aces (5-15) on Wednesday.

The Evansville Purple Aces faced off with UIC and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 76-49 in their last contest. Evansville finished having earned a 30.2% FG percentage (16 out of 53) and knocked down 7 of their 32 3-point attempts. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Purple Aces made 10 of 12 shots for a percentage of 83.3%. When it comes to grabbing rebounds, they collected 29 with 11 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 12 assists for the contest as well as forcing 8 turnovers and getting 6 steals. When talking about defending, Evansville allowed the other team to go 50.0% from the floor on 30 of 60 shooting. UIC earned 19 dimes and had 15 steals in this contest. On top of that, UIC collected 33 boards (10 offensive, 23 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. UIC shot 60.0% from the charity stripe by converting 12 of 20 attempts. They also converted 4 of 15 attempts from long range. When it comes to fouls, the Purple Aces ended up finishing with 17 while UIC totaled 12 fouls.

Joshua Hughes is someone who was a major factor for the contest. He racked up 16 points on 6 of 11 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 32 minutes and also grabbed 6 boards. He finished 54.5% from the floor and earned 2 dimes.

Get all of our NCAA Picks Tonight

Evansville will enter this matchup with a mark of 5-15 so far this season. They are giving up possession 13.9 times per game and as a unit they are committing 16.9 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Evansville is pulling in 33.6 boards per game and is sitting with 269 assists on the year, which is 246th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. The Purple Aces are hitting 30.8% on shots from downtown (142 of 461) and 71.9% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 67.3 pts per contest (339th in Division 1) while shooting 42.1% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Purple Aces are forcing their opponents into 11.8 turnovers every game and they draw 17.9 fouls. They relinquish 34.8% on 3-point shots and they rank 192nd in the nation in opponents PPG (73.8). The Purple Aces defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 44.4% (517 of 1,164) and they surrender 35.8 rebounds per game as a group. They are 193rd in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 274 conceded for the season.

In their last game, the Drake Bulldogs got the win with a final of 76-62 when they played Indiana State. The Bulldogs pulled down 24 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 32 in the game. They also turned it over 8 times, while recording 11 steals for the game. Indiana State was called for 19 fouls for the contest which took the Bulldogs to the charity stripe for a total of 24 shots. They were able to knock down 16 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 66.7%. With regard to shots from beyond the perimeter, Drake made 8 of their 27 attempts (29.6%). Overall, the Bulldogs went 26 out of 62 from the floor which had them sitting at 41.9%. The Bulldogs allowed Indiana State to convert 23 of their 56 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 41.1% for this contest. They shot 22.2% from distance by hitting 6 out of 27 and ended up shooting 10 of 17 at the free throw line (58.8%). With respect to rebounding, Drake allowed Indiana State to collect 33 in all (6 on the offensive side).

Jalen Quinn ended up having an impact for the Bulldogs for the game. He converted 11 of 17 in this contest giving him a rate of 64.7%, and had 4 rebounds. He scored 27 points in his 32 minutes of playing time, but went home with no dimes.

Drake has a mark of 11-10 so far this year. The Bulldogs are responsible for committing 17.3 personal fouls per game while shooting 71.5% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 13.9 times per contest (202nd in Division 1) and they are turning it over 10.2 times per contest. Drake has scored 1,620 pts so far this season (77.1 per game) and they pull down 36.3 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Bulldogs are hitting on 45.1% from the field, which ranks them 194th in college.

The Drake defense gives up 32.9% on shots from beyond the arc (183 of 557) and opponents are knocking down 67.7% of their shots from the free throw line. They have surrendered 13.5 assists and 36.8 total boards per game, which ranks them 190th and 306th in those categories on the defensive end. The Bulldogs are ranked 133rd in the country in points per game surrendered with 72.1. They are forcing their opponents into 11.2 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.0% from the field (87th in college hoops).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Evansville

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Get college basketball picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bets by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.