Incarnate Word Cardinals vs Northwestern State Demons Prediction, 2/23/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Incarnate Word Cardinals vs Northwestern State Demons

Date: Monday, February 23, 2026

Location: Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches, LA

TV: ESPN+

The Northwestern State Demons (9-19) host the Incarnate Word Cardinals (11-17) at Prather Coliseum on Monday.

The Incarnate Word Cardinals faced off with East Texas A&M and went home with a win by a final score of 82-73 in their last contest. Incarnate Word ended having earned a 51.9% field goal percentage (27 out of 52) and knocked down 13 out of their 26 3-pointers. At the charity stripe, the Cardinals made 15 of 16 shots for a rate of 93.8%. Concerning getting rebounds, they earned 25 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 14 dimes in the matchup in addition to creating 6 turnovers and having 5 steals. Regarding defending, Incarnate Word allowed their opponent to shoot 49.2% from the field on 29 of 59 shooting. East Texas A&M recorded 21 dimes and had 4 steals in this matchup. In addition, East Texas A&M collected 23 boards (10 offensive, 13 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. East Texas A&M finished the game at 62.5% at the free throw line by burying 5 of their 8 shots. They converted 10 of 28 attempts from beyond the perimeter. In regard to personal fouls, the Cardinals ended up with 10 while East Texas A&M accounted for 14 personal fouls.

Tahj Staveskie is one player who played a role in the game. He finished the game shooting 47.6% from the field and also distributed 5 dimes. He was on the hardwood for 38 minutes played and also collected 3 boards. He ended up scoring 33 points on 10 out of 21 shooting.

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Incarnate Word comes into this contest with a win-loss mark of 11-17 so far this year. They average 75.5 points per game (196th in college hoops) while going 44.7% from the floor. The Cardinals are connecting on 38.2% on shots from 3-point land (246 of 644) and 72.0% from the free throw line. As a unit, Incarnate Word is grabbing 34.8 rebounds per contest and has totaled 331 dimes so far this year, which has them ranked 318th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 11.3 times per game and as a team are committing 18.1 fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Cardinals have forced 10.6 turnovers per game and they draw 16.5 personal fouls. They relinquish 34.2% from 3-point land and they rank 214th in college in PPG allowed (74.8). The Cardinals defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 47.2% (726 of 1,537) and they surrender 32.4 boards per contest as a unit. They rank 211th in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 380 relinquished so far this year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Northwestern State Demons got the victory with a final of 71-53 when they faced Houston Christian. When it comes to rebounding, Northwestern State allowed Houston Christian to pull down 28 in total (7 on the offensive glass). They finished 27.8% from behind the 3-point line by going 5 out of 18 and ended up shooting 8 of 12 at the charity stripe (66.7%). The Demons allowed Houston Christian to make 20 of 53 tries from the field which had them sitting at 37.7% for the contest. When the final whistle blew, the Demons ended up going 26 out of 54 from the field which had them shooting 48.1%. In reference to shots from downtown, Northwestern State made 4 out of 14 attempts (28.6%). They were able to make 15 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 78.9%. Houston Christian committed 19 fouls for this contest which took the Demons to the charity stripe for a total of 19 tries. They turned it over 7 times, while earning 4 steals in this contest. The Demons earned 26 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards totaling 32 for this contest.

Micah Thomas ended up having an impact for the Demons in this contest. He recorded 23 points in his 28 minutes on the hardwood and tallied 1 assist for this contest. He converted 7 of 16 in this contest giving him a rate of 43.8%, and had 1 rebound.

Northwestern State has a mark of 9-19 for the year. As an offense, the Demons are connecting on 44.5% from the field, which is 230th in D-1. Northwestern State has accounted for 1,963 pts so far this year (70.1 per game) and they average 31.1 boards per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 12.3 times per contest (302nd in college) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 11.6 times per game. The Demons have committed 17.0 personal fouls every game and they connect on 74.6% from the free throw line.

The Northwestern State defense gives up 35.8% on 3-point shots (211 of 590) and their opponents are making 70.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have conceded 13.3 dimes and 34.5 boards per contest, which ranks them 174th and 197th in college hoops. The Demons on the defensive side of the court are 180th in college in points allowed per game with 73.6. They are forcing their opponents into 11.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 46.3% from the floor (295th in the country).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Incarnate Word

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