Jacksonville Dolphins vs Central Arkansas Bears Prediction, 1/15/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Jacksonville Dolphins vs Central Arkansas Bears

Date: Thursday, January 15, 2026

Location: Farris Center in Conway, AR

TV: ESPN+

Farris Center is the location where the Central Arkansas Bears (7-10) will play the Jacksonville Dolphins (6-11) on Thursday.

The Jacksonville Dolphins faced off with West Georgia and notched a win by a score of 75-43 in their last contest. Jacksonville finished the contest having earned a 54.0% field goal percentage (27 of 50) and buried 9 of their 15 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the charity stripe, the Dolphins converted 12 of their 15 shots for a percentage of 80.0%. With regard to hauling in rebounds, they collected 24 with 3 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 12 assists for the contest while forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and getting 10 steals. In the matter of the defense, Jacksonville allowed their opponent to shoot 35.9% from the floor on 14 of 39 shooting. West Georgia distributed 4 dimes and had 3 steals in this game. Furthermore, West Georgia snagged 25 rebounds (5 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't have a block. West Georgia ended up going 63.6% from the free throw line by burying 14 of their 22 tries. They also buried 1 of 11 tries from 3-point land. Regarding fouls, the Dolphins ended up with 17 while West Georgia totaled 12 fouls.

Chris Lockett is one player who was important in this contest. He totaled 18 points on 6 of 7 shooting. He played 23 minutes played and also totaled 1 rebound. He finished 85.7% from the field and also distributed 1 assist.

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Jacksonville heads into this contest with a mark of 6-11 for the season. They turn it over 12.8 times per game and as a unit they commit 18.6 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Jacksonville is collecting 34.5 boards per game and has totaled 222 assists on the year, which is 262nd in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. The Dolphins are connecting on 33.5% on 3-pointers (141 of 421) and 66.0% from the free throw line. They have an average of 72.9 pts per contest (278th in the country) while connecting on 45.2% from the field.

Defensively, the Dolphins are able to force 11.5 turnovers every game while drawing 15.5 fouls. They currently rank 187th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 225 surrendered on the campaign. The Dolphins defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 46.0% (428 of 930) and they surrender 31.6 boards per contest as a team. They concede 34.2% on shots from distance and they are ranked 187th in college in PPG allowed (73.6).

In their last game, the Central Arkansas Bears took a loss by a final score of 79-75 when they played Eastern Kentucky. With respect to rebounding, Central Arkansas permitted Eastern Kentucky to get 30 overall (9 on the offensive side). They shot 42.2% from beyond the arc by shooting 19 of 45 and finished the contest at 4 out of 7 at the free throw line (57.1%). The Bears allowed Eastern Kentucky to convert 28 of 64 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 43.8% for the matchup. When the final whistle blew, the Bears ended up shooting 27 for 63 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 42.9%. With regard to shooting from beyond the arc, Central Arkansas knocked down 10 out of their 33 attempts (30.3%). They were able to knock down 11 of the free throw tries for a rate of 73.3%. Eastern Kentucky was called for 15 fouls in the matchup which got the Bears to the free throw line for 15 shots. They coughed up the ball 12 times, while earning 9 steals in this matchup. The Bears corralled 26 defensive boards and 11 offensive rebounds totaling 37 in the matchup.

Camren Hunter was important for the Bears in the matchup. He accumulated 25 points in his 39 mins of playing time and accumulated 4 dimes for this game. He made 10 of 19 for the matchup for a rate of 52.6%, and had 4 rebounds.

Central Arkansas has a mark of 7-10 so far this year. The Bears commit 15.6 personal fouls per game and they connect on 67.5% from the charity stripe. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 15.9 times per contest (90th in the country) and they are turning it over 12.2 times per contest. Central Arkansas has 1,323 points so far this season (77.8 per contest) and they pull down 37.9 rebounds per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Bears are shooting 43.5% from the floor, which ranks them 276th in D-1.

The Bears on the defensive side of the court are 236th in the nation in points given up per game with 75.5. They are forcing their opponents into 13.6 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 44.2% from the field (214th in the nation). The Central Arkansas defense surrenders 32.7% on 3-pointers (180 of 551) and opponents are connecting on 73.6% of their shots from the charity stripe. They allow 16.1 dimes and 35.8 boards per game, which is ranked 328th and 255th in the nation.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Central Arkansas

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