Florida Gulf Coast Eagles vs North Alabama Lions Prediction, 1/3/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Florida Gulf Coast Eagles vs North Alabama Lions

Date: Saturday, January 3, 2026

Location: Flowers Hall in Florence, AL

TV: ESPN+

The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (6-7) are headed to Flowers Hall on Saturday where they will take on the North Alabama Lions (5-6).

The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles stepped onto the hardwood against Ft. Lauderdale and notched a win by a score of 84-43 in their last game. Florida Gulf Coast ended the game having earned a 45.1% field goal percentage (32 out of 71) and made 10 out of their 37 shots from 3-point land. From the charity stripe, the Eagles converted 10 of their 14 tries for a percentage of 71.4%. Regarding rebounding, they collected 53 with 22 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 18 assists in the matchup while forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and having 8 steals. With respect to defense, Florida Gulf Coast allowed the other team to shoot 30.9% from the field on 17 of 55 shooting. Ft. Lauderdale totaled 9 assists and had 9 steals for the game. Additionally, Ft. Lauderdale pulled down 20 rebounds (6 offensive, 14 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Ft. Lauderdale finished 50.0% from the charity stripe by knocking down 6 of 12 shots. They made 3 out of their 16 tries from downtown. When talking about fouls, the Eagles walked away with 10 and Ft. Lauderdale recorded 12 fouls.

Isaiah Malone is one player who was important in this contest. He ended up shooting 85.7% from the field but had no assists at the end of the game. He saw the court for 20 mins played and also collected 14 rebounds. He accounted for 15 points on 6 out of 7 shooting.

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Florida Gulf Coast comes into this one with a win-loss record of 6-7 on the year. They are turning it over 11.7 times per game and as a group are committing 20.0 personal fouls per game. As a unit, Florida Gulf Coast is grabbing 39.3 boards per contest and has 203 assists so far this year, which is 161st in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Eagles are shooting 33.5% on 3-pointers (118 of 352) and 73.1% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 83.2 points per outing (79th in college hoops) while connecting on 44.9% from the floor.

Defensively, the Eagles have forced 13.4 turnovers every game while drawing 16.8 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 72nd in the country in giving up assists to the opposition with 157 surrendered on the campaign. The Eagles are giving up a FG percentage of 44.8% (344 of 768) and they surrender 35.2 rebounds per game as a team. They are giving up 34.1% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 324th in D-1 in points per game from their opponents (80.5).

For their last game, the North Alabama Lions took a loss by a score of 91-57 when they played Loyola Marymount. The Lions snagged 20 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive boards for a total of 31 for the game. They turned the ball over 7 times, while getting 6 steals in this matchup. Loyola Marymount was called for 24 fouls for the matchup which took the Lions to the charity stripe for 25 tries. They were able to convert 16 of the free throws for a rate of 64.0%. With respect to 3-pointers, North Alabama converted 3 out of 15 attempts (20.0%). Overall, the Lions went 19 out of 64 from the field which gave them a percentage of 29.7%. The Lions permitted Loyola Marymount to convert 32 out of their 63 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 50.8% for this game. They finished the game shooting 50.0% from distance by shooting 16 out of 32 and finished the game at 11 of 17 from the free throw line (64.7%). Regarding rebounding, North Alabama allowed Loyola Marymount to collect 38 overall (8 offensive).

Corneilous Williams pitched in for the Lions in this matchup. He recorded 14 points in his 24 minutes on the court and added 1 assist for this contest. He converted 3 out of 7 for this game giving him a rate of 42.9%, and added 11 rebounds.

North Alabama has a mark of 5-6 this year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Lions are connecting on 42.1% from the floor, which has them ranked 314th in college. North Alabama has accumulated 778 points on the season (70.7 per contest) and they pull in 36.4 rebounds per contest. They are earning an assist 11.0 times per contest (350th in Division 1) and they turn the ball over 10.8 times per game. The Lions commit 15.5 personal fouls per game and they shoot 69.1% from the free throw line.

The North Alabama defense allows 35.8% on 3-point shots (106 of 296) and their opponents are converting on 71.0% of their foul shots. They give up 15.8 assists and 36.6 total rebounds per game, which is 311th and 276th in the country. The Lions defensively are ranked 238th in college hoops in points per game surrendered with 75.5. They are able to force 10.1 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 44.0% from the floor (220th in D-1).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take North Alabama

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