Iona Gaels vs Niagara Purple Eagles Prediction, 2/15/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Iona Gaels vs Niagara Purple Eagles

Date: Sunday, February 15, 2026

Location: Gallagher Center in Niagara Falls, NY

TV: ESPN+

The Niagara Purple Eagles (6-19) welcome the Iona Gaels (15-11) at Gallagher Center on Sunday.

The Iona Gaels stepped onto the hardwood against Canisius and earned the victory with a final of 69-63 in their last game. When talking about fouls, the Gaels finished with 19 and Canisius finished the game with 19 fouls. They made 9 of their 26 attempts from beyond the perimeter. Canisius finished 60.0% from the charity stripe by converting 6 of their 10 shots. In addition, Canisius had 29 boards (8 offensive, 21 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Canisius dished out 14 assists and had 3 steals in this contest. Pertaining to defending, Iona allowed the other team to go 42.1% from the floor on 24 of 57 shooting. They also doled out 10 assists in this contest while forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and earning 7 steals. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 26 with 5 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Gaels made 22 of their 25 shots for a percentage of 88.0%. Iona wrapped up the game with a 42.6% field goal percentage (20 out of 47) and knocked down 7 out of their 19 3-pointers.

Lamin Sabally is one guy who was a major contributor in this game. He ended up going 58.3% from the floor and dished out 3 dimes. He was on the court for 32 mins and pulled down 9 rebounds. He left the arena with 17 points on 7 of 12 shooting.

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Iona will take the court with a record of 15-11 for the campaign. They are giving up possession 11.5 times per game and as a unit they are committing 15.9 fouls every game. As a unit, Iona is snagging 34.4 rebounds per game and is sitting with 362 assists this season, which is 156th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Gaels are connecting on 35.5% on shots beyond the perimeter (247 of 696) and 70.7% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 73.4 points per contest (253rd in college hoops) while connecting on 43.7% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Gaels are able to force 12.0 turnovers per game and they draw 15.7 fouls. They currently rank 319th in Division 1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 392 conceded so far this season. The Gaels defense is giving up an opponent FG percentage of 43.4% (696 of 1,605) and they concede 38.3 rebounds per game as a group. They are conceding 30.4% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they rank 168th in college hoops in PPG allowed (73.2).

In their last game, the Niagara Purple Eagles went home defeated by a final of 76-69 when they played Manhattan. When discussing how they rebounded, Niagara permitted Manhattan to grab 28 overall (7 on the offensive side). They shot 47.8% from distance by going 11 out of 23 and walked away from this one shooting 11 of 13 at the free throw line (84.6%). The Purple Eagles permitted Manhattan to convert 27 out of 56 tries from the floor which had them shooting 48.2% for the matchup. Overall, the Purple Eagles ended up shooting 25 out of 49 from the floor which gave them a rate of 51.0%. When talking about shots from beyond the arc, Niagara made 6 of 19 tries (31.6%). They were able to knock down 13 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 81.3%. Manhattan had 10 personal fouls in the game which got the Purple Eagles to the charity stripe for 16 attempts. They also turned the ball over 11 times, while earning 5 steals for the matchup. The Purple Eagles were able to collect 19 defensive boards and 3 offensive boards totaling 22 in this game.

Vice Zanki pitched in for the Purple Eagles for this game. He knocked down 3 of 7 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 42.9%, and accounted for 4 rebounds. He had 13 points in his 25 mins of playing time and had 1 assist in the game.

Niagara has a record of 6-19 this year. The Purple Eagles are committing 15.0 fouls per game and they hit 71.2% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 13.7 times per game (208th in the nation) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 11.7 times per contest. Niagara has accounted for 1,577 points this season (63.1 per contest) and they collect 29.3 rebounds per contest. On the offensive side of the court, the Purple Eagles are shooting 43.6% from the floor, which is ranked 280th in college.

The Niagara defense concedes 35.3% on shots from 3-point land (194 of 550) and opponents are connecting on 78.1% of their foul shots. They allow 12.8 dimes and 33.9 boards on a nightly basis, which is 135th and 148th in college hoops. The Purple Eagles on defense are ranked 102nd in the country in PPG given up with 71.1. They are forcing 10.7 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 45.6% from the floor (269th in college).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Iona

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