Florida Gulf Coast Eagles vs Eastern Kentucky Colonels Prediction, 2/5/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Florida Gulf Coast Eagles vs Eastern Kentucky Colonels

Date: Thursday, February 5, 2026

Location: Baptist Health Arena in Richmond, KY

TV: ESPN+

The Eastern Kentucky Colonels (7-16) will compete against the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (10-13) at Baptist Health Arena on Thursday.

The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles played Jacksonville and went home with a win by a final score of 68-49 in their last contest. Florida Gulf Coast ended the game having earned a 44.2% FG percentage (23 out of 52) and made 7 of their 15 shots from 3-point land. From the free throw line, the Eagles made 15 of their 25 tries for a rate of 60.0%. Regarding pulling down boards, they compiled 34 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 10 assists in this matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 16 turnovers and getting 9 steals. In relation to defending, Florida Gulf Coast allowed the other team to shoot 37.0% from the field on 20 out of 54 shooting. Jacksonville totaled 4 dimes and had 6 steals for this contest. Moreover, Jacksonville grabbed 33 boards (8 offensive, 25 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Jacksonville finished the game shooting 53.3% when shooting free throws by making 8 of 15 shots. They buried 1 of their 17 tries from three-point range. Concerning fouls, the Eagles ended up with 18 while Jacksonville recorded 22 fouls.

Jordan Ellerbee is one guy who was a factor in this matchup. He notched 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 24 mins played and also snagged 5 boards. He ended up going 66.7% from the field and earned 1 assist.

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Florida Gulf Coast will take the court with a mark of 10-13 on the year. They currently have an average of 79.2 pts per game (121st in Division 1) while shooting 45.3% from the floor. The Eagles are hitting 34.7% on shots from beyond the arc (200 of 576) and 73.2% from the free throw line. As a team, Florida Gulf Coast is pulling down 37.3 boards per contest and is sitting with 342 assists for the season, which is 110th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession by turning the ball over 11.7 times per contest and as a team they are committing 19.5 personal fouls per game.

Defensively, the Eagles are forcing their opponents into 12.0 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.8 personal fouls. They are 204th in the nation in allowing assists to their opponents with 304 surrendered for the campaign. The Eagles defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 44.2% (592 of 1,339) and they relinquish 34.3 boards per contest as a unit. They are giving up 35.2% on 3-point shots while they are 291st in Division 1 in PPG allowed (77.9).

For their last game, the Eastern Kentucky Colonels took a defeat with a final score of 90-81 when they played Central Arkansas. The Colonels were able to collect 28 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards for a total of 35 for the matchup. They turned the ball over 15 times, while earning 3 steals for this game. Central Arkansas was called for 19 personal fouls in this game which got the Colonels to the free throw line for 26 attempts. They were able to make 19 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 73.1%. When talking about 3-point attempts, Eastern Kentucky made 14 out of their 37 tries (37.8%). When the final whistle was blown, the Colonels shot 24 out of 57 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.1%. The Colonels allowed Central Arkansas to knock down 33 out of their 67 tries from the floor which left them with a rate of 49.3% in this matchup. They went 35.5% from beyond the arc by shooting 11 of 31 and finished the contest at 13 out of 26 at the charity stripe (50.0%). Regarding how they rebounded, Eastern Kentucky allowed Central Arkansas to pull down 33 in total (7 on the offensive side).

Jackson Holt ended up being a factor for the Colonels in this game. He converted 5 out of 6 in the matchup for a rate of 83.3%, and tallied 1 rebound. He racked up 16 points in his 20 mins of playing time, but didn't record an assist.

Eastern Kentucky has a win-loss mark of 7-16 on the campaign. The Colonels are committing 18.5 personal fouls every game and they hit 72.2% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 14.3 times per contest (171st in college) and they lose possession via turnover 12.2 times per contest. Eastern Kentucky has tallied 1,845 pts this year (80.2 per game) and they grab 36.8 rebounds per contest. As an offensive team, the Colonels are connecting on 43.4% from the field, which has them ranked 282nd in the nation.

The Colonels on defense are ranked 335th in D-1 in PPG surrendered with 80.8. They are forcing their opponents into 11.9 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 47.9% from the floor (344th in college hoops). The Eastern Kentucky defense concedes 34.7% on shots from behind the 3-point line (184 of 531) and their opponents are connecting on 71.8% of their free throw attempts. They have conceded 14.8 dimes and 35.7 total boards per game, ranking them 281st and 251st in college.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Florida Gulf Coast

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