Evansville Purple Aces vs Murray State Racers Prediction, 2/21/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Evansville Purple Aces vs Murray State Racers

Date: Saturday, February 21, 2026

Location: CFSB Center in Murray, KY

TV: ESPN+

CFSB Center is the location where the Murray State Racers (19-10) will meet the Evansville Purple Aces (6-21) on Saturday.

The Evansville Purple Aces took the court against UIC and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 84-46 in their last contest. When it comes to personal fouls, the Purple Aces left the arena with 10 and UIC recorded 10 personal fouls. They also converted 16 of 27 tries from downtown. UIC went 80.0% at the free throw line by knocking down 4 of their 5 shots. Furthermore, UIC pulled down 42 rebounds (12 offensive, 30 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. UIC dished out 26 dimes and had 8 steals for this contest. When it comes to defending, Evansville let their opponent shoot 53.3% from the field on 32 of 60 shooting. They also dished out 14 dimes for the contest while forcing the opposition into 14 turnovers and having 5 steals. With respect to rebounding, they earned a total of 21 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. From the charity stripe, the Purple Aces made 5 of their 8 tries for a percentage of 62.5%. Evansville finished the contest having earned a 32.7% field goal percentage (17 of 52) and converted 7 out of their 32 shots from beyond the arc.

Trent Hundley is a guy who came through in the game. He ended up finishing with 12 points on 4 out of 8 shooting. He played for 26 minutes and also snagged 1 board. He ended up going 50.0% from the field and recorded 3 dimes.

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Evansville heads into this game with a win-loss mark of 6-21 for the campaign. They lose possession by turning the ball over 13.2 times per contest and as a squad they commit 15.7 fouls per contest. As a team, Evansville is snagging 31.7 rebounds per contest and has earned 355 dimes on the season, which is 231st in the nation in terms of passing. The Purple Aces are connecting on 32.2% on three-point attempts (206 of 640) and 71.6% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 66.6 pts per contest (346th in Division 1) while hitting 42.5% from the field.

Defensively, the Purple Aces are able to force 11.4 turnovers every game while drawing 16.5 fouls. They currently rank 303rd in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 406 relinquished on the year. The Purple Aces defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 45.8% (722 of 1,575) and they relinquish 36.0 boards per contest as a team. They give up 36.1% on 3-point shots and they rank 228th in the country in points per game from their opponents (75.3).

When they last played, the Murray State Racers went home defeated by a final of 78-61 when they faced Illinois State. The Racers corralled 14 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards for a total of 24 in this matchup. They coughed up the ball 12 times, while earning 8 steals for this contest. Illinois State was called for 14 personal fouls for the contest which got the Racers to the free throw line for 14 shots. They were able to knock down 8 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 57.1%. Pertaining to shots from beyond the arc, Murray State made 5 of 20 tries (25.0%). Overall, the Racers shot 24 out of 57 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.1%. The Racers permitted Illinois State to knock down 32 of 58 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 55.2% in this game. They shot 42.9% from distance by going 9 of 21 and finished the contest at 5 out of 11 at the charity stripe (45.5%). Concerning team rebounding, Murray State allowed Illinois State to pull down 32 in total (10 on the offensive side).

Roman Domon was important for the Racers in this contest. He accumulated 18 points in his 35 mins of playing time, but went home with no dimes. He made 5 out of 13 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 38.5%, and had 3 rebounds.

Murray State has a win-loss mark of 19-10 for the campaign. The Racers are responsible for committing 18.3 fouls per contest and they shoot 75.5% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 13.7 times per game (202nd in the country) and they are turning it over 12.1 times per game. Murray State has accounted for 2,422 points this season (83.5 per game) and they pull in 36.8 boards per contest. On the offensive side of the ball, the Racers are connecting on 46.6% from the floor, which ranks 100th in college.

The Racers on the defensive end are ranked 321st in Division 1 in points given up per game with 79.4. They are able to force 11.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 46.9% from the field (317th in the nation). The Murray State defense gives up 36.2% from downtown (177 of 489) and their opposition knocks down 71.6% of their shots from the free throw line. They have surrendered 12.6 assists and 35.0 total rebounds per game, which has them ranked 112th and 226th in D-1.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Evansville

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