Kennesaw State Owls vs Missouri State Bears Prediction, 2/18/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kennesaw State Owls vs Missouri State Bears

Date: Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Location: Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield, MO

TV: ESPN+

The Kennesaw State Owls (14-11) are hitting the road to Great Southern Bank Arena on Wednesday where they will go up against the Missouri State Bears (13-12).

The Kennesaw State Owls faced Sam Houston State and took a loss by a final of 83-79 in their last game. Kennesaw State finished having earned a 47.5% field goal percentage (29 of 61) and made 10 of their 24 shots from distance. When they shot from the free throw line, the Owls knocked down 11 of their 16 attempts for a rate of 68.8%. Pertaining to rebounding, they earned a total of 24 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 16 assists in this game as well as forcing the opposition into 11 turnovers and earning 7 steals. When talking about the defense, Kennesaw State allowed the other team to go 54.9% from the floor on 28 of 51 shooting. Sam Houston State distributed 14 assists and had 8 steals in the game. On top of that, Sam Houston State grabbed 26 rebounds (7 offensive, 19 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Sam Houston State walked away from this one shooting 74.1% at the free throw line by knocking down 20 of 27 shots. They converted 7 of 17 tries from long range. Regarding personal fouls, the Owls left the arena with 19 while Sam Houston State recorded 16 personal fouls.

Amir Taylor is someone who was a factor for the game. He ended up going 58.3% from the floor and also recorded 3 dimes. He was on the hardwood for 32 minutes and grabbed 6 rebounds. He ended up scoring 21 points on 7 out of 12 shooting.

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Kennesaw State will play this contest with a win-loss mark of 14-11 on the season. They have an average of 85.1 pts per contest (23rd in D-1) while hitting 44.5% from the floor. The Owls are connecting on 34.6% on shots from 3-point land (245 of 708) and 69.1% from the charity stripe. As a team, Kennesaw State is pulling in 42.1 rebounds per game and has earned 366 assists on the campaign, which is 177th in the country in terms of passing. They lose possession via turnover 12.1 times per game and as a unit are committing 20.1 fouls every game.

Defensively, the Owls are able to force 12.3 turnovers every game and they draw 20.0 personal fouls. They rank 31st in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 286 relinquished so far this year. The Owls defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 40.6% (615 of 1,513) and they concede 35.6 boards per game as a team. They relinquish 34.0% on shots from distance while they are 258th in college in opponents PPG (76.8).

For their last game, the Missouri State Bears went home defeated by a final of 76-67 when they faced Delaware. The Bears collected 20 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 30 for the game. They also gave up possession of the ball 7 times, while getting 6 steals for the matchup. Delaware was called for 12 fouls in this game which got the Bears to the charity stripe for a total of 18 shots. They were able to make 13 of the free throw tries for a rate of 72.2%. When it comes to shots from downtown, Missouri State buried 10 of their 28 tries (35.7%). When this game wrapped up, the Bears finished shooting 22 out of 59 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 37.3%. The Bears allowed Delaware to convert 26 of 49 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 53.1% for the matchup. They finished the game shooting 44.4% from distance by hitting 8 of 18 and walked away from this one shooting 16 out of 17 from the free throw line (94.1%). In relation to cleaning up the glass, Missouri State permitted Delaware to snag 29 overall (2 on the offensive side).

Kobi Williams pitched in for the Bears in the game. He recorded 25 points in his 37 minutes on the hardwood and had 2 dimes in this matchup. He knocked down 7 of 14 for this game giving him a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and added 2 rebounds.

Missouri State has a win-loss mark of 13-12 for the year. The Bears are responsible for committing 17.6 fouls per game and they go 67.4% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.0 times per contest (181st in Division 1) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.6 times per contest. Missouri State has totaled 1,878 points on the year (75.1 per game) and they grab 35.4 rebounds per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Bears are connecting on 44.4% from the floor, which is ranked 236th in the country.

The Missouri State defense allows 33.5% on shots from 3-point land (169 of 504) and their opponents are knocking down 71.4% of their foul shots. They have surrendered 13.1 assists and 33.9 total boards per game, which has them ranked 154th and 147th in college hoops. The Bears on the defensive end are ranked 156th in Division 1 in PPG surrendered with 73.0. They have forced 12.2 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 44.9% from the field (239th in the country).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Missouri State

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