Jacksonville State Gamecocks vs Sam Houston State Bearkats Prediction, 2/21/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Jacksonville State Gamecocks vs Sam Houston State Bearkats

Date: Saturday, February 21, 2026

Location: Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum in Huntsville, TX

TV: ESPN+

Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum is where the Sam Houston State Bearkats (18-8) will go up against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks (13-13) on Saturday.

The Jacksonville State Gamecocks faced off with Louisiana Tech and went home with a loss by a final score of 77-71 in their last game. In reference to personal fouls, the Gamecocks ended up with 18 and Louisiana Tech totaled 14 personal fouls. They also converted 8 of their 20 attempts from long range. Louisiana Tech finished the game at 57.9% at the charity stripe by burying 11 of 19 shots. Furthermore, Louisiana Tech had 34 boards (7 offensive, 27 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Louisiana Tech recorded 23 assists and had 8 steals for the matchup. In terms of defense, Jacksonville State allowed the other team to shoot 54.7% from the floor on 29 out of 53 shooting. They also doled out 13 assists for the matchup as well as forcing the opposition into 13 turnovers and getting 10 steals. When talking about grabbing rebounds, they earned 23 with 7 of them being of the offensive sort. From the free throw line, the Gamecocks made 14 of 22 tries for a percentage of 63.6%. Jacksonville State finished the contest having earned a 40.4% field goal percentage (23 out of 57) and knocked down 11 of 24 shots from distance.

Mostapha El Moutaouakkil is one player who was a major contributor in the game. He ended up going 60.0% from the floor and also earned 1 assist. He played 31 mins and also totaled 5 boards. He ended up scoring 27 points on 9 of 15 shooting.

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Jacksonville State heads into this one with a record of 13-13 so far this season. They turn it over 11.8 times per contest and as a group they commit 17.0 fouls per contest. As a unit, Jacksonville State is grabbing 36.8 rebounds per contest and has tallied 315 assists this year, which is 320th in D-1 in terms of passing. The Gamecocks are connecting on 35.4% on shots from beyond the arc (205 of 579) and 68.3% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 72.6 points per outing (264th in Division 1) while going 43.8% from the floor.

On defense, the Gamecocks are forcing their opponents into 11.5 turnovers every game while drawing 19.0 fouls. They rank 41st in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 298 conceded on the year. The Gamecocks are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 40.3% (585 of 1,452) and they concede 33.5 boards per game as a group. They are giving up 30.5% on 3-point shots while they are 31st in the nation in PPG allowed (67.3).

When they last stepped on the court, the Sam Houston State Bearkats walked away with a victory by a final of 78-70 when they faced MTSU. When discussing rebounding, Sam Houston State permitted MTSU to pull down 29 in total (7 on the offensive side). They finished 24.0% from 3-point land by going 6 of 25 and ended up going 8 out of 15 at the charity stripe (53.3%). The Bearkats permitted MTSU to bury 28 out of 65 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.1% for the game. When the final whistle blew, the Bearkats went 29 for 68 from the floor which had them at 42.6%. Concerning 3-point attempts, Sam Houston State knocked down 6 out of their 18 tries (33.3%). They were able to make 14 of them for a percentage of 93.3%. MTSU had 12 fouls for the matchup which took the Bearkats to the charity stripe for a total of 15 tries. They also turned it over 9 times, while recording 4 steals for the game. The Bearkats were able to collect 27 defensive boards and 13 offensive boards for a total of 40 for the matchup.

Jacob Walker ended up being important for the Bearkats in the matchup. He earned 20 points in his 32 mins on the court and accumulated 3 assists in this contest. He converted 5 out of 10 in this matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and earned 2 rebounds.

Sam Houston State has a mark of 18-8 on the season. In terms of offensive execution, the Bearkats are connecting on 46.6% from the field, which ranks them 107th in the nation. Sam Houston State has earned 2,152 points on the year (82.8 per game) and they pull in 41.1 rebounds per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 15.7 times per contest (83rd in college) and they lose possession via turnover 12.0 times per contest. The Bearkats commit 17.7 fouls every game and they connect on 72.5% from the free throw line.

The Sam Houston State defense surrenders 30.4% from downtown (206 of 678) and their opponents are making 69.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They have surrendered 12.8 assists and 34.6 total rebounds per game, which has them ranked 129th and 198th in college hoops. The Bearkats on defense are ranked 187th in college in points given up per game with 73.8. They are forcing 11.8 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 41.5% from the field (56th in D-1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Sam Houston State

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