Jacksonville State Gamecocks vs New Mexico State Aggies Prediction, 3/5/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Jacksonville State Gamecocks vs New Mexico State Aggies

Date: Thursday, March 5, 2026

Location: Pan American Center in Las Cruces, NM

TV: ESPN+

The Jacksonville State Gamecocks (14-15) are hitting the road to Pan American Center on Thursday where they will go up against the New Mexico State Aggies (13-15).

The Jacksonville State Gamecocks played Liberty and went home with a loss by a final score of 81-78 in their last contest. In reference to fouls, the Gamecocks walked away with 16 while Liberty finished the game with 17 fouls. They buried 11 out of their 25 tries from beyond the perimeter. Liberty walked away from this one shooting 77.8% when shooting free throws by converting 14 of 18 tries. Moreover, Liberty grabbed 21 rebounds (1 offensive, 20 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Liberty earned 15 assists and had 3 steals in the game. With regard to defending, Jacksonville State allowed their opponent to shoot 56.0% from the field on 28 out of 50 shooting. They also distributed 13 dimes in the matchup as well as forcing 8 turnovers and having 4 steals. In the matter of grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 26 with 4 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the Gamecocks converted 14 of 20 shots for a percentage of 70.0%. Jacksonville State walked away from the contest with a 50.9% field goal percentage (28 out of 55) and buried 8 out of their 18 shots from beyond the arc.

Mostapha El Moutaouakkil is one guy who was a factor for this contest. He accounted for 21 points on 6 of 17 shooting. He was on the court for 26 mins and snagged 6 boards. He walked away from this one shooting 35.3% from the floor but had no assists when the time ran out.

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Jacksonville State steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss mark of 14-15 so far this season. They have an average of 73.2 points per contest (257th in the nation) while shooting 44.2% from the floor. The Gamecocks are shooting 36.1% on shots from 3-point land (232 of 642) and 69.3% from the charity stripe. As a team, Jacksonville State is pulling in 36.3 rebounds per game and has 359 dimes so far this year, which is 322nd in the country in terms of passing. They turn the ball over 11.3 times per contest and as a team they commit 17.1 fouls on a nightly basis.

On defense, the Gamecocks are forcing their opponents into 11.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 18.7 fouls. They are currently ranked 39th in the nation in allowing assists to the opposition with 339 surrendered for the season. The Gamecocks defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 41.1% (661 of 1,610) and they surrender 33.2 boards per game as a group. They are conceding 31.4% from beyond the arc and they are 49th in college hoops in opponents PPG (68.3).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the New Mexico State Aggies walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 86-85 when they faced MTSU. The Aggies snagged 18 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive rebounds for a total of 32 for the contest. They also turned it over 7 times, while getting 9 steals in this contest. MTSU earned 14 fouls in the game which got the Aggies to the charity stripe for a total of 16 tries. They were able to knock down 12 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 75.0%. When discussing shooting from 3-point land, New Mexico State converted 7 of 25 tries (28.0%). When the game finished, the Aggies finished 33 out of 74 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.6%. The Aggies allowed MTSU to bury 29 of their 57 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 50.9% for the matchup. They shot 31.8% from behind the 3-point line via 7 out of 22 and walked away from this one shooting 21 out of 27 at the free throw line (77.8%). In reference to team rebounding, New Mexico State allowed MTSU to get 34 in all (9 on the offensive glass).

Jemel Jones pitched in for the Aggies in the game. He tallied 34 points in his 39 minutes on the court and accumulated 1 assist in this matchup. He made 13 of 24 for this game giving him a rate of 54.2%, and accumulated 7 rebounds.

New Mexico State has a record of 13-15 on the campaign. The Aggies commit 19.6 personal fouls per game and they shoot 73.1% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 13.5 times per contest (216th in college) and they are turning it over 10.5 times per game. New Mexico State has accounted for 2,118 pts on the season (75.6 per contest) and they pull in 37.6 rebounds per contest. As an offensive unit, the Aggies are shooting 43.3% from the floor, which ranks them 293rd in the country.

The New Mexico State defense gives up 31.4% from downtown (212 of 675) and their opponents are making 73.8% of their free throw shots. They relinquish 11.3 assists and 34.9 boards on a nightly basis, which is 34th and 220th in the country. The Aggies are ranked 127th in college in points per game surrendered with 72.1. They are able to force 11.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 41.4% from the floor (44th in college hoops).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Jacksonville State

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