Illinois State Redbirds vs UIC Flames Prediction, 2/15/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois State Redbirds vs UIC Flames

Date: Sunday, February 15, 2026

Location: Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago, IL

TV: ESPN+

The UIC Flames (14-12) will play the Illinois State Redbirds (17-9) at Credit Union 1 Arena on Sunday.

The Illinois State Redbirds stepped onto the hardwood against Valparaiso and walked away with a win by a score of 86-64 in their last contest. Illinois State ended having earned a 51.7% FG percentage (30 out of 58) and buried 9 of their 26 3-pointers. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Redbirds converted 17 of their 17 tries for a percentage of 100.0%. Concerning pulling down boards, they collected a total of 38 with 7 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 12 assists for the game while creating 8 turnovers and earning 4 steals. Regarding defending, Illinois State allowed 36.4% from the field on 24 out of 66 shooting. Valparaiso earned 8 dimes and had 6 steals in the game. On top of that, Valparaiso grabbed 29 boards (11 offensive, 18 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Valparaiso ended up going 71.4% from the free throw line by converting 10 of their 14 tries. They also made 6 of 16 attempts from distance. When it comes to fouls, the Redbirds finished with 15 while Valparaiso racked up 17 fouls.

Johnny Kinziger is someone who was important for this contest. He accounted for 21 points on 7 of 15 shooting. He saw the court for 26 mins played but finished the game without grabbing a rebound. He finished the game shooting 46.7% from the floor and dished out 1 assist.

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Illinois State heads into this game with a record of 17-9 so far this year. They cough up possession 10.9 times per contest and as a squad are committing 17.1 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Illinois State is grabbing 37.0 boards per game and has earned 360 assists on the season, which ranks 164th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Redbirds are connecting on 35.6% on shots from downtown (224 of 629) and 69.7% from the free throw line. They have an average of 77.2 pts per contest (157th in the country) while connecting on 47.3% from the floor.

Defensively, the Redbirds are able to force 11.3 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 17.7 personal fouls. They are 83rd in the country in giving up assists to their opponents with 303 surrendered for the campaign. The Redbirds defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 42.1% (618 of 1,469) and they surrender 32.3 rebounds per game as a group. They are surrendering 32.4% from 3-point land and they are ranked 37th in college in points per game allowed (67.5).

In their last game, the UIC Flames went home victorious with a score of 80-70 against Drake. The Flames corralled 23 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 34 in the matchup. They also turned it over 7 times, while recording 9 steals in this contest. Drake was called for 19 personal fouls for this contest which got the Flames to the charity stripe for a total of 18 attempts. They were able to knock down 17 of those for a clip of 94.4%. When talking about shooting from beyond the arc, UIC made 9 of their 21 attempts (42.9%). When this game wrapped up, the Flames finished the game shooting 27 out of 62 from the floor which had them sitting at 43.5%. The Flames permitted Drake to make 23 out of 54 attempts from the field which had them at 42.6% for the matchup. They shot 40.7% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 11 of 27 and walked away from this one shooting 13 of 16 from the free throw line (81.3%). Regarding cleaning up the glass, UIC permitted Drake to snag 28 overall (7 on the offensive side).

Elijah Crawford ended up being a major contributor for the Flames for the matchup. He accumulated 18 points in his 27 minutes on the court and earned 5 assists for the contest. He buried 7 of 15 in this contest for a field goal rate of 46.7%, and accounted for 5 rebounds.

UIC has a mark of 14-12 for the campaign. The Flames are responsible for committing 17.0 fouls per contest and they shoot 73.9% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 13.9 times per contest (186th in college) and they lose possession via turnover 12.1 times per contest. UIC has scored 1,944 pts for the campaign (74.8 per contest) and they grab 36.2 boards per contest. As an offense, the Flames are shooting 44.3% from the field, which ranks 244th in college.

The UIC defense gives up 32.5% on 3-pointers (214 of 658) and their opposition makes 74.5% of their free throw shots. They have conceded 15.6 dimes and 33.4 total rebounds per game, which has them ranked 318th and 119th in the nation. The Flames on the defensive end are ranked 90th in college in PPG allowed with 70.3. They are forcing 14.1 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 42.7% from the field (104th in college hoops).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Illinois State

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