Little Rock Trojans vs Eastern Illinois Panthers Prediction, 2/14/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Little Rock Trojans vs Eastern Illinois Panthers

Date: Saturday, February 14, 2026

Location: Groniger Arena in Charleston, IL

TV: ESPN+

The Eastern Illinois Panthers (10-16) are hosting the Little Rock Trojans (9-16) at Groniger Arena on Saturday.

The Little Rock Trojans faced SIU Edwardsville and took a loss by a final of 71-61 in their last contest. With respect to personal fouls, the Trojans finished with 14 and SIU Edwardsville racked up 13 personal fouls. They also converted 8 of 21 shots from beyond the arc. SIU Edwardsville walked away from this one shooting 86.7% from the free throw line by making 13 of their 15 tries. Moreover, SIU Edwardsville pulled down 36 rebounds (3 offensive, 33 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. SIU Edwardsville totaled 14 dimes and had 3 steals in the game. With regard to defense, Little Rock let their opponent shoot 45.5% from the field on 25 of 55 shooting. They also recorded 6 assists in this contest while creating 10 turnovers and having 3 steals. When it comes to hauling in rebounds, they earned a total of 37 with 14 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the Trojans buried 7 of their 10 tries for a percentage of 70.0%. Little Rock wrapped up the game with a 32.9% FG percentage (23 of 70) and buried 8 of their 21 shots from downtown.

Johnathan Lawson is one guy who was a major factor in the matchup. He accounted for 18 points on 6 of 18 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 40 minutes and grabbed 5 boards. He ended up shooting 33.3% from the floor and also recorded 2 assists.

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Little Rock comes into this matchup with a record of 9-16 on the campaign. They lose possession via turnover 13.5 times per game and as a unit they are committing 15.1 fouls per game. As a team, Little Rock is snagging 32.9 rebounds per game and has accounted for 348 dimes on the campaign, which is 183rd in D-1 in terms of passing. The Trojans are connecting on 35.1% on three-point shots (162 of 461) and 68.2% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 70.2 pts per game (310th in Division 1) while hitting 44.6% from the floor.

On the defensive end of the court, the Trojans have forced 14.0 turnovers per game and they draw 15.1 personal fouls. They are 285th in D-1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 368 relinquished for the year. The Trojans defensively are allowing a FG percentage of 46.5% (674 of 1,449) and they surrender 35.4 boards per game as a team. They are giving up 37.0% from 3-point land and they rank 229th in D-1 in PPG from their opponents (75.3).

In their last game, the Eastern Illinois Panthers took a loss by a final score of 79-70 when they played Western Illinois. The Panthers were able to collect 25 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 33 in this game. They also coughed up the ball 10 times, while recording 7 steals in the game. Western Illinois had 15 personal fouls for the contest which took the Panthers to the free throw line for 14 attempts. They were able to convert 8 of the free throw tries for a clip of 57.1%. In terms of shooting from beyond the arc, Eastern Illinois converted 6 of 22 attempts (27.3%). When the final whistle blew, the Panthers went 28 out of 63 from the floor which had them shooting 44.4%. The Panthers permitted Western Illinois to knock down 26 of their 57 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 45.6% in the matchup. They finished 40.0% from 3-point land via 8 out of 20 and finished the game at 19 out of 26 from the free throw line (73.1%). With respect to rebounding, Eastern Illinois allowed Western Illinois to get 36 in total (8 offensive).

Kooper Jacobi was important for the Panthers in this matchup. He made 9 of 14 for this contest giving him a rate of 64.3%, and had 14 rebounds. He had 19 points in his 40 minutes on the hardwood and totaled 2 assists for the matchup.

Eastern Illinois has a mark of 10-16 this year. As an offensive team, the Panthers are shooting 42.9% from the floor, which is 303rd in the country. Eastern Illinois has totaled 1,737 pts for the campaign (66.8 per game) and they grab 32.5 rebounds per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 12.3 times per game (297th in the nation) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.0 times per game. The Panthers commit 16.7 personal fouls per game while shooting 73.3% from the free throw line.

The Panthers defensively are ranked 84th in college hoops in PPG given up with 70.2. They are forcing 13.7 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 43.1% from the floor (128th in Division 1). The Eastern Illinois defense allows 29.8% on 3-pointers (186 of 625) and opponents are knocking down 74.7% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 13.8 assists and 35.4 rebounds per contest, which is 212th and 231st in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Little Rock

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