Lindenwood Lions vs SIU Edwardsville Cougars Prediction, 1/6/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Lindenwood Lions vs SIU Edwardsville Cougars

Date: Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Location: First Community Arena in Edwardsville, IL

TV: ESPN+

The Lindenwood Lions (10-5) are headed to First Community Arena on Tuesday where they will try to defeat the SIU Edwardsville Cougars (9-6).

The Lindenwood Lions stepped onto the hardwood against Southern Indiana and notched a win by a score of 83-80 in their last contest. In reference to fouls, the Lions walked away with 12 while Southern Indiana racked up 14 fouls. They made 6 out of their 21 attempts from three-point range. Southern Indiana walked away from this one shooting 85.7% when shooting free throws by knocking down 12 of their 14 attempts. Furthermore, Southern Indiana snagged 29 boards (9 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Southern Indiana doled out 14 dimes and had 9 steals for the contest. When discussing the defense, Lindenwood allowed the other team to shoot 49.2% from the field on 31 of 63 shooting. They also doled out 13 assists in this game as well as forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and having 8 steals. In relation to rebounding, they collected 37 with 17 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Lions knocked down 9 of 12 shots for a percentage of 75.0%. Lindenwood ended having earned a 49.3% FG percentage (35 of 71) and converted 4 of their 9 3-point attempts.

Milos Nenadic is a player who was important for this game. He finished shooting 64.3% from the floor and dished out 3 assists. He was on the court for 33 mins played and pulled down 9 boards. He ended up walking away with 22 points on 9 of 14 shooting.

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Lindenwood will play this contest with a win-loss mark of 10-5 for the season. They currently have an average of 82.7 pts per contest (85th in college) while shooting 47.6% from the field. The Lions are hitting 31.7% on shots from distance (92 of 290) and 66.7% from the free throw line. As a unit, Lindenwood is pulling down 41.7 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 250 dimes so far this year, which ranks 66th in college in terms of passing. They turn it over 12.9 times per contest and as a team they commit 17.0 fouls per contest.

On the defensive end, the Lions are forcing 14.7 turnovers per game and they draw 18.2 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 191st in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 197 relinquished on the campaign. The Lions are giving up a shooting percentage of 41.2% (388 of 942) and they surrender 37.1 rebounds per game as a unit. They are giving up 28.9% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 134th in college in opponents points per game (71.5).

In their last game, the SIU Edwardsville Cougars took a defeat with a final score of 73-72 when they played Morehead State. The Cougars snagged 16 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 25 in this contest. They also gave up possession 8 times, while earning 7 steals for this contest. Morehead State was called for 14 fouls for this contest which took the Cougars to the free throw line for 16 attempts. They were able to knock down 12 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 75.0%. With regard to shooting from beyond the arc, SIU Edwardsville converted 8 of their 23 attempts (34.8%). When this game wrapped up, the Cougars finished 26 for 59 from the floor which gave them a rate of 44.1%. The Cougars allowed Morehead State to knock down 25 out of their 47 attempts from the floor which had them at 53.2% in this contest. They finished the game shooting 35.3% from behind the 3-point line by connecting on 6 out of 17 and finished the contest at 17 out of 22 at the free throw line (77.3%). In reference to rebounds, SIU Edwardsville permitted Morehead State to grab 24 overall (6 on the offensive glass).

Darrion Baker ended up being a factor for the Cougars in the matchup. He converted 5 out of 9 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 55.6%, and had 5 rebounds. He totaled 15 points in his 30 mins on the hardwood, but wasn't able to tally an assist.

SIU Edwardsville has a mark of 9-6 so far this year. As an offense, the Cougars are shooting 44.6% from the field, which is 234th in the country. SIU Edwardsville has earned 1,130 pts for the season (75.3 per contest) and they average 38.0 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 13.5 times per contest (251st in Division 1) and they lose possession via turnover 11.3 times per game. The Cougars commit 16.4 personal fouls per game and they shoot 67.8% from the free throw line.

The SIU Edwardsville defense allows 31.1% on shots from distance (111 of 357) and their opposition knocks down 73.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They surrender 10.5 assists and 34.1 rebounds every game, which ranks them 22nd and 156th in D-1. The Cougars are ranked 34th in college hoops in points given up per game with 66.1. They are forcing 14.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 40.1% from the field (49th in college).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Lindenwood

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