James Madison Dukes vs Southern Miss Golden Eagles Prediction, 1/31/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: James Madison Dukes vs Southern Miss Golden Eagles

Date: Saturday, January 31, 2026

Location: Reed Green Coliseum in Hattiesburg, MS

TV: ESPN+

The James Madison Dukes (10-11) are hitting the road to Reed Green Coliseum on Saturday where they will play the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (11-11).

The James Madison Dukes faced Texas State and notched a win by a score of 82-57 in their last game. In the matter of fouls, the Dukes ended up finishing with 15 and Texas State finished the game with 12 fouls. They also knocked down 4 out of their 17 attempts from three-point range. Texas State went 71.4% from the free throw line by knocking down 15 of their 21 attempts. Moreover, Texas State snagged 22 rebounds (8 offensive, 14 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Texas State distributed 9 dimes and had 7 steals in the game. When it comes to defending, James Madison allowed the other team to shoot 33.3% from the field on 19 of 57 shooting. They also dished out 20 assists in this game while forcing 7 turnovers and earning 5 steals. Concerning rebounding, they earned a total of 36 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. From the charity stripe, the Dukes converted 8 of their 11 shots for a percentage of 72.7%. James Madison finished the contest with a 52.6% field goal percentage (30 out of 57) and converted 14 of 32 three-point attempts.

Cliff Davis is one guy who was important in the game. He scored 18 points on 6 of 9 shooting. He played 25 mins but ended the game without a board. He went 66.7% from the floor and totaled 2 dimes.

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James Madison enters this matchup with a mark of 10-11 this season. They lose possession via turnover 11.8 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 20.0 personal fouls every game. As a unit, James Madison is pulling in 36.4 boards per game and has accounted for 287 dimes on the season, which ranks 209th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. The Dukes are shooting 35.8% on shots from 3-point land (201 of 562) and 71.5% from the free throw line. They are averaging 75.0 points per game (222nd in the nation) while shooting 44.2% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Dukes are able to force 8.9 turnovers per game and they draw 16.3 fouls. They are ranked 102nd in D-1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 258 conceded for the year. The Dukes defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 43.4% (537 of 1,238) and they surrender 36.2 boards per game as a team. They are conceding 34.0% from 3-point land and they rank 253rd in Division 1 in PPG from their opponents (76.4).

The last time they took the court, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles took a loss by a score of 85-67 when they played Coastal Carolina. The Golden Eagles recorded 16 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards for a total of 21 for the matchup. They also turned the ball over 7 times, while getting 12 steals in this game. Coastal Carolina had 17 personal fouls in the game which got the Golden Eagles to the free throw line for a total of 23 attempts. They were able to knock down 15 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 65.2%. Regarding 3-pointers, Southern Miss made 4 out of 13 attempts (30.8%). In all, the Golden Eagles shot 24 out of 54 from the field which gave them a rate of 44.4%. The Golden Eagles permitted Coastal Carolina to convert 29 out of 51 tries from the floor which had them shooting 56.9% for the matchup. They shot 60.9% from three-point range via 14 out of 23 and finished the game at 13 out of 17 from the charity stripe (76.5%). Concerning cleaning the glass, Southern Miss allowed Coastal Carolina to grab 33 overall (5 on the offensive side).

Tylik Weeks ended up being a factor for the Golden Eagles for the matchup. He knocked down 9 of 20 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 45.0%, and accumulated 4 rebounds. He had 22 points in his 35 minutes on the hardwood and accumulated 2 assists in this matchup.

Southern Miss has a win-loss record of 11-11 on the campaign. The Golden Eagles are responsible for committing 18.9 personal fouls every game while shooting 73.2% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 11.8 times per contest (326th in college) and they are giving up possession 12.8 times per contest. Southern Miss has accumulated 1,628 points on the season (74.0 per contest) and they average 35.9 boards per game. As an offense, the Golden Eagles are shooting 45.3% from the field, which ranks 175th in the country.

The Golden Eagles are ranked 187th in the nation in points given up per game with 73.7. They are forcing 12.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 42.9% from the field (137th in Division 1). The Southern Miss defense allows 36.1% from downtown (189 of 523) and their opposition makes 71.9% of their foul shots. They have given up 12.4 assists and 33.8 total boards per game, which has them ranked 100th and 149th in those categories.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take James Madison

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