Lamar Cardinals vs UT Rio Grande Vaqueros Prediction, 2/16/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Lamar Cardinals vs UTRGV Vaqueros

Date: Monday, February 16, 2026

Location: UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg, TX

TV: ESPN+

The UTRGV Vaqueros (14-11) are hosting the Lamar Cardinals (12-13) at UTRGV Fieldhouse on Monday.

The Lamar Cardinals stepped onto the hardwood against Northwestern State and went home with a loss by a final score of 70-68 in their last contest. In reference to fouls, the Cardinals ended up with 19 while Northwestern State had 14 fouls. They also converted 7 of their 18 shots from beyond the arc. Northwestern State walked away from this one shooting 65.0% at the charity stripe by converting 13 of 20 attempts. In addition, Northwestern State grabbed 30 boards (7 offensive, 23 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Northwestern State totaled 19 dimes and had 9 steals for the contest. In the matter of the defense, Lamar allowed the other team to shoot 44.6% from the floor on 25 of 56 shooting. They also distributed 13 assists in the game in addition to forcing the opposition into 8 turnovers and getting 3 steals. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they collected 36 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. When they shot from the free throw line, the Cardinals knocked down 16 of 22 tries for a rate of 72.7%. Lamar ended the contest with a 41.1% field goal percentage (23 out of 56) and converted 6 of 16 shots from 3-point land.

Rob Lee Jr. is a guy who came through in the game. He shot 42.9% from the floor and also earned 2 assists. He was on the hardwood for 29 mins and snagged 4 rebounds. He notched 18 points on 6 of 14 shooting.

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Lamar enters this game with a mark of 12-13 on the campaign. They turn it over 11.8 times per contest and as a team are committing 17.2 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Lamar is pulling down 37.7 boards per contest and has 380 assists for the season, which is 111th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Cardinals are hitting 34.8% on shots beyond the perimeter (183 of 526) and 71.6% from the free throw line. They average 72.1 pts per game (277th in college) while connecting on 43.8% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Cardinals are able to force 12.0 turnovers per game and they draw 15.5 fouls. They are 151st in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 326 relinquished this season. The Cardinals defensively are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 43.4% (581 of 1,340) and they surrender 32.5 rebounds per contest as a team. They are relinquishing 35.8% on 3-point attempts and they are 60th in D-1 in points per game allowed (68.8).

When they last stepped on the court, the UTRGV Vaqueros went home victorious with a score of 92-72 when they faced Nicholls State. When it comes to how they attacked the glass, UT Rio Grande permitted Nicholls State to snag 17 in total (6 on the offensive side). They finished 28.6% from downtown by going 8 of 28 and walked away from this one shooting 12 out of 22 from the free throw line (54.5%). The Vaqueros allowed Nicholls State to bury 26 of 59 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 44.1% in this contest. When the final whistle blew, the Vaqueros shot 33 for 52 from the floor which gave them a rate of 63.5%. Regarding shots from downtown, UT Rio Grande converted 9 of their 21 attempts (42.9%). They were able to make 17 of those for a rate of 85.0%. Nicholls State was called for 18 fouls for the matchup which took the Vaqueros to the charity stripe for a total of 20 attempts. They also turned it over 15 times, while getting 6 steals in the matchup. The Vaqueros recorded 25 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards for a total of 35 for this game.

Jaylen Washington ended up being a major contributor for the Vaqueros for the contest. He made 10 of 12 in the game for a field goal rate of 83.3%, and had 1 rebound. He tallied 26 points in his 32 mins of playing time and accumulated 6 assists for the matchup.

UT Rio Grande has a record of 14-11 on the year. As an offensive unit, the Vaqueros are hitting on 47.4% from the field, which has them ranked 65th in Division 1. UT Rio Grande has scored 1,911 points for the campaign (76.4 per contest) and they snag 35.2 rebounds per game. They are assisting teammates 16.9 times per game (45th in the country) and they lose possession via turnover 12.0 times per contest. The Vaqueros are responsible for committing 17.9 fouls per contest and they hit 75.5% from the free throw line.

The Vaqueros on the defensive end are ranked 75th in college in points allowed per contest with 69.7. They are able to force 11.8 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 41.5% from the field (54th in college). The UT Rio Grande defense gives up 31.2% on shots from behind the 3-point line (181 of 581) and their opposition knocks down 71.2% of their foul shots. They surrender 14.0 assists and 33.4 total boards per game, ranking them 234th and 116th in college.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UT Rio Grande

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