Idaho State Bengals vs Montana State Bobcats Prediction, 1/22/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Idaho State Bengals vs Montana State Bobcats

Date: Thursday, January 22, 2026

Location: Worthington Arena in Bozeman, MT

TV: ESPN+

The Montana State Bobcats (10-8) will play the Idaho State Bengals (10-9) at Worthington Arena on Thursday.

The Idaho State Bengals stepped onto the hardwood against Eastern Washington and went home with a loss by a final score of 84-66 in their last contest. Idaho State wrapped up the game having earned a 37.5% FG percentage (21 of 56) and made 5 of their 25 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the charity stripe, the Bengals converted 19 of 21 shots for a rate of 90.5%. When it comes to pulling down rebounds, they collected 30 with 11 of them being offensive. They also dished out 13 dimes for this contest as well as creating 12 turnovers and earning 5 steals. With regard to the defense, Idaho State allowed the other team to go 48.0% from the field on 24 out of 50 shooting. Eastern Washington doled out 8 assists and had 5 steals in this contest. Additionally, Eastern Washington totaled 28 boards (6 offensive, 22 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Eastern Washington finished shooting 82.4% from the free throw line by making 28 of 34 tries. They made 8 out of their 15 attempts from beyond the arc. With respect to fouls, the Bengals finished with 24 and Eastern Washington finished the game with 19 fouls.

Connor Hollenbeck is one guy who was a factor for the matchup. He finished the contest at 66.7% from the floor but didn't record an assist. He played for 30 mins and totaled 2 rebounds. He recorded 15 points on 6 out of 9 shooting.

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Idaho State steps onto the hardwood with a record of 10-9 on the year. They lose possession by turning the ball over 11.3 times per game and as a squad they are committing 17.6 fouls every game. As a unit, Idaho State is grabbing 33.5 boards per game and has accounted for 241 assists for the season, which is 254th in college hoops in terms of passing. The Bengals are connecting on 34.4% on shots from downtown (157 of 457) and 74.5% from the free throw line. They are averaging 76.9 pts per game (182nd in college hoops) while shooting 46.6% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Bengals are forcing their opponents into 11.0 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.9 fouls. They give up 33.1% on shots from downtown and they rank 193rd in Division 1 in points per game allowed (73.9). The Bengals defensively are allowing a field goal percentage of 45.4% (488 of 1,075) and they surrender 29.2 rebounds per contest as a team. They rank 135th in the nation in allowing assists to their opponents with 235 relinquished for the campaign.

When they last stepped on the court, the Montana State Bobcats went home victorious with a score of 73-68 against Northern Colorado. With respect to cleaning up the glass, Montana State permitted Northern Colorado to collect 42 in all (15 on the offensive glass). They finished 33.3% from 3-point land by hitting 7 of 21 and finished the game at 1 of 3 from the free throw line (33.3%). The Bobcats permitted Northern Colorado to convert 30 of their 70 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 42.9% for the contest. When the final whistle blew, the Bobcats ended up going 23 for 54 from the floor which had them shooting 42.6%. Concerning three-point shots, Montana State converted 11 of their 26 attempts (42.3%). They were able to convert 16 of the free throw tries for a rate of 76.2%. Northern Colorado was called for 16 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Bobcats to the charity stripe for a total of 21 shots. They also coughed up the ball 5 times, while getting 9 steals for the matchup. The Bobcats recorded 20 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive rebounds totaling 24 for this contest.

Davian Brown ended up having an impact for the Bobcats for this game. He tallied 16 points in his 32 mins on the court and totaled 2 assists for the game. He converted 6 of 11 for this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 54.5%, and had 4 rebounds.

Montana State has a win-loss record of 10-8 for the year. The Bobcats commit 16.8 personal fouls per game while shooting 74.9% from the charity stripe. Their rate of earning assists is at 11.9 times per game (322nd in the country) and they are giving up possession 10.7 times per game. Montana State has 1,424 points on the campaign (79.1 per game) and they pull in 34.6 rebounds per game. When it comes to offense, the Bobcats are shooting 47.4% from the field, which is 76th in the nation.

The Bobcats on the defensive side of the court are 96th in college in points allowed per game with 70.3. They are forcing 11.8 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.6% from the floor (178th in college). The Montana State defense allows 31.4% on shots from beyond the arc (112 of 357) and opponents are making 77.9% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 11.1 assists and 32.4 total boards per game, which is ranked 33rd and 71st in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Montana State

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