Hampton Pirates vs UNC Wilmington Seahawks Prediction, 1/3/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Hampton Pirates vs UNC Wilmington Seahawks

Date: Saturday, January 3, 2026

Location: Trask Coliseum in Wilmington, NC

TV: ESPN+

The UNC Wilmington Seahawks (13-2) are hosting the Hampton Pirates (8-7) at Trask Coliseum on Saturday.

The Hampton Pirates stepped onto the hardwood against Towson and took home the win by a score of 63-62 in their last contest. Hampton ended the contest with a 45.8% field goal percentage (22 out of 48) and made 4 of their 16 shots from distance. When they shot from the free throw line, the Pirates knocked down 15 of their 20 tries for a rate of 75.0%. Pertaining to pulling down boards, they compiled 26 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 10 assists in this contest as well as forcing 9 turnovers and having 5 steals. In terms of defending, Hampton let their opponent shoot 38.2% from the floor on 21 out of 55 shooting. Towson earned 7 dimes and had 5 steals in this contest. On top of that, Towson snagged 30 rebounds (13 offensive, 17 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Towson ended up shooting 65.4% at the charity stripe by knocking down 17 of their 26 attempts. They also made 3 out of their 19 shots from 3-point range. In regard to fouls, the Pirates ended up finishing with 18 and Towson totaled 17 fouls.

Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt is one player who had an impact for the matchup. He ended up with 15 points on 4 out of 8 shooting. He was on the court for 35 minutes played and also snagged 3 boards. He finished 50.0% from the floor and totaled 3 assists.

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Hampton steps onto the court with a record of 8-7 so far this year. They lose possession via turnover 12.1 times per game and as a unit they are committing 18.7 fouls every game. As a team, Hampton is pulling in 37.3 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 195 dimes so far this year, which has them ranked 195th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. The Pirates are connecting on 29.4% from downtown (96 of 326) and 70.7% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 72.4 points per contest (288th in college) while hitting 43.7% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Pirates have forced 12.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 19.0 personal fouls. They are ranked 194th in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 183 surrendered for the campaign. The Pirates defense is allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 42.6% (353 of 828) and they relinquish 33.5 rebounds per contest as a unit. They are giving up 30.0% on shots from downtown while they are 64th in college in opponents points per game (67.7).

When they last stepped on the court, the UNC Wilmington Seahawks walked away with a victory by a final of 65-53 when they played Drexel. In reference to how they rebounded, UNC Wilmington permitted Drexel to collect 34 in total (13 offensive). They finished 17.9% from distance by going 5 of 28 and finished the contest at 12 of 19 from the charity stripe (63.2%). The Seahawks allowed Drexel to convert 18 of 55 attempts from the floor which had them sitting at 32.7% in the game. When the final whistle blew, the Seahawks went 21 out of 52 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 40.4%. When it comes to shots from downtown, UNC Wilmington buried 3 of their 15 attempts (20.0%). They were able to make 20 of those for a percentage of 71.4%. Drexel was called for 21 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Seahawks to the charity stripe for a total of 28 attempts. They gave up possession of the ball 5 times, while getting 7 steals in this game. The Seahawks collected 23 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 32 for the matchup.

Nolan Hodge pitched in for the Seahawks in this game. He earned 17 points in his 24 minutes on the court, but didn't get an assist. He converted 6 out of 10 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 60.0%, and earned 2 rebounds.

UNC Wilmington has a record of 13-2 so far this year. The Seahawks are responsible for committing 16.9 personal fouls every game and they hit 70.2% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 13.6 times per contest (245th in the nation) and they are giving up possession 10.4 times per game. UNC Wilmington has 1,198 points on the season (79.9 per game) and they collect 41.9 boards per contest. As an offense, the Seahawks are shooting 45.4% from the floor, which is 188th in the country.

The Seahawks defensively are ranked 32nd in D-1 in PPG surrendered with 65.9. They are able to force 11.1 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 38.7% from the field (24th in college). The UNC Wilmington defense gives up 29.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter (117 of 391) and their opposition makes 74.4% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have relinquished 10.5 dimes and 31.9 boards per contest, which has them ranked 27th and 70th in the nation.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Hampton

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