Idaho Vandals vs Northern Colorado Bears Prediction, 1/29/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Idaho Vandals vs Northern Colorado Bears

Date: Thursday, January 29, 2026

Location: Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley, CO

TV: ESPN+

The Northern Colorado Bears (11-10) are welcoming the Idaho Vandals (12-8) at Bank of Colorado Arena on Thursday.

The Idaho Vandals played Portland State and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 69-66 in their last contest. In regard to fouls, the Vandals ended up walking away with 16 and Portland State accumulated 23 fouls. They also knocked down 6 of their 13 shots from downtown. Portland State walked away from this one shooting 68.8% from the free throw line by making 11 of 16 shots. Moreover, Portland State collected 28 rebounds (4 offensive, 24 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Portland State distributed 12 dimes and had 9 steals in this game. Regarding defending, Idaho let their opponent shoot 48.1% from the field on 26 of 54 shooting. They also doled out 10 assists in this matchup while forcing 9 turnovers and getting 5 steals. In relation to rebounding, they earned 32 with 6 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the Vandals converted 17 of 25 attempts for a percentage of 68.0%. Idaho finished with a 41.2% FG percentage (21 out of 51) and made 7 of their 24 three-point attempts.

Isaiah Brickner is one player who was a contributor for this game. He finished 77.8% from the field but didn't record an assist. He was on the court for 27 minutes and also snagged 6 boards. He totaled 22 points on 7 out of 9 shooting.

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Idaho heads into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 12-8 on the year. They average 80.0 pts per game (111th in the country) while shooting 45.1% from the field. The Vandals are shooting 36.2% on shots from distance (211 of 583) and 74.2% from the free throw line. As a team, Idaho is grabbing 37.1 rebounds per contest and has 266 assists for the campaign, which has them ranked 262nd in the nation in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession by turning the ball over 11.2 times per game and as a unit they commit 18.6 fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end of the court, the Vandals have forced 11.5 turnovers per game while drawing 19.3 personal fouls. They are ranked 61st in college in giving up assists with 239 conceded for the campaign. The Vandals defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 43.2% (502 of 1,161) and they surrender 33.3 rebounds per game as a team. They concede 33.9% on three-point shots and they are 174th in D-1 in opponents PPG (73.2).

For their last game, the Northern Colorado Bears took a loss by a score of 81-77 against Northern Arizona. Concerning rebounds, Northern Colorado allowed Northern Arizona to get 18 in all (3 on the offensive glass). They finished 56.3% from beyond the perimeter by going 9 of 16 and ended up going 14 of 19 at the charity stripe (73.7%). The Bears permitted Northern Arizona to bury 29 out of their 49 attempts from the floor which left them shooting 59.2% in the matchup. In all, the Bears shot 29 out of 58 from the field which had them at 50.0%. With respect to three-point attempts, Northern Colorado converted 13 of their 29 attempts (44.8%). They were able to convert 6 of the free throws for a percentage of 85.7%. Northern Arizona was called for 13 fouls in this game which took the Bears to the free throw line for a total of 7 attempts. They also turned it over 15 times, while getting 2 steals for this contest. The Bears were able to snag 19 defensive boards and 11 offensive rebounds totaling 30 in the matchup.

Brock Wisne was important for the Bears for the game. He converted 8 of 11 in this game for a field goal rate of 72.7%, and totaled 3 rebounds. He racked up 18 points in his 31 mins on the court and tallied 5 assists for this contest.

Northern Colorado has a win-loss mark of 11-10 on the season. As an offense, the Bears are shooting 48.8% from the floor, which is 37th in the nation. Northern Colorado has tallied 1,746 pts this season (83.1 per game) and they snag 36.9 rebounds per contest. They are assisting teammates 17.2 times per game (44th in the country) and they cough up possession 11.8 times per game. The Bears commit 18.0 fouls per contest and they hit 75.7% from the free throw line.

The Northern Colorado defense gives up 30.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter (134 of 438) and their opposition knocks down 74.9% of their shots from the charity stripe. They concede 10.2 dimes and 31.4 boards every game, which is 8th and 38th in college hoops. The Bears are ranked 292nd in college hoops in PPG given up with 78.0. They are able to force 9.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 46.0% from the floor (295th in Division 1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Idaho

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