Idaho Vandals vs Northern Arizona Lumberjacks Prediction, 1/31/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Idaho Vandals vs Northern Arizona Lumberjacks

Date: Saturday, January 31, 2026

Location: J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, AZ

TV: ESPN+

J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome is the site where the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (7-14) will take on the Idaho Vandals (12-8) on Saturday.

The Idaho Vandals faced off with Portland State and ended up losing by a score of 69-66 in their last contest. In regard to personal fouls, the Vandals ended up walking away with 16 and Portland State totaled 23 personal fouls. They also made 6 of their 13 attempts from distance. Portland State shot 68.8% from the charity stripe by knocking down 11 of 16 shots. Additionally, Portland State pulled down 28 rebounds (4 offensive, 24 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Portland State doled out 12 assists and had 9 steals in this matchup. With regard to the defense, Idaho allowed the other team to go 48.1% from the floor on 26 out of 54 shooting. They also doled out 10 dimes for the game while forcing 9 turnovers and getting 5 steals. In relation to pulling down rebounds, they collected 32 with 6 of them being of the offensive sort. From the free throw line, the Vandals knocked down 17 of their 25 attempts for a rate of 68.0%. Idaho wrapped up the contest with a 41.2% field goal percentage (21 out of 51) and buried 7 of their 24 shots from downtown.

Isaiah Brickner is someone who was a factor in the matchup. He walked away from this one shooting 77.8% from the field but had no assists when the game ended. He played for 27 minutes and also totaled 6 rebounds. He notched 22 points on 7 of 9 shooting.

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Idaho will take the court with a win-loss mark of 12-8 so far this year. They are averaging 80.0 points per game (112th in the country) on 45.1% from the field. The Vandals are connecting on 36.2% on shots from downtown (211 of 583) and 74.2% from the free throw line. As a unit, Idaho is grabbing 37.1 rebounds per game and has 266 dimes so far this year, which has them ranked 273rd in the country in terms of passing. They are losing possession via turnover 11.2 times per game and as a team they commit 18.6 fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Vandals are forcing their opponents into 11.5 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.3 fouls. They are giving up 33.9% on three-point shots while they are 175th in the nation in points per game allowed (73.2). The Vandals defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 43.2% (502 of 1,161) and they surrender 33.3 boards per game as a group. They are 56th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 239 surrendered so far this year.

The last time they took the court, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks got the victory with a final of 81-77 when they played Northern Colorado. The Lumberjacks were able to pull down 15 defensive boards and 3 offensive rebounds for a total of 18 in this contest. They coughed up the ball 7 times, while recording 7 steals in the game. Northern Colorado committed 14 personal fouls for the game which got the Lumberjacks to the charity stripe for 19 tries. They were able to bury 14 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 73.7%. In regard to shooting from distance, Northern Arizona buried 9 of 16 tries (56.3%). When the final whistle blew, the Lumberjacks walked away from this one shooting 29 out of 49 from the floor which had them sitting at 59.2%. The Lumberjacks permitted Northern Colorado to convert 29 of their 58 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 50.0% for this game. They shot 44.8% from beyond the perimeter by going 13 out of 29 and ended up going 6 of 7 at the free throw line (85.7%). In the matter of how they rebounded, Northern Arizona permitted Northern Colorado to snag 30 in all (11 on the offensive glass).

Chris Komin was important for the Lumberjacks in the matchup. He totaled 24 points in his 35 mins of playing time and had 3 assists in the game. He converted 9 out of 10 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 90.0%, and tallied 4 rebounds.

Northern Arizona has a record of 7-14 so far this year. As an offense, the Lumberjacks are hitting on 47.0% from the field, which ranks 87th in the nation. Northern Arizona has earned 1,527 points for the season (72.7 per contest) and they grab 31.6 boards per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 13.9 times per game (201st in college hoops) and they turn the ball over 11.3 times per contest. The Lumberjacks have committed 17.2 fouls per contest and they connect on 66.3% from the charity stripe.

The Northern Arizona defense allows 37.8% on shots from beyond the arc (190 of 502) and their opposition makes 74.2% of their free throw attempts. They concede 14.3 dimes and 35.5 boards every game, which ranks them 256th and 243rd in those categories on the defensive end. The Lumberjacks on the defensive end are ranked 239th in college in points allowed per contest with 75.8. They are forcing 12.5 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 46.5% from the floor (312th in the nation).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Idaho

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