Louisiana Tech Bulldogs vs Missouri State Bears Prediction, 2/12/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Louisiana Tech Bulldogs vs Missouri State Bears

Date: Thursday, February 12, 2026

Location: Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield, MO

TV: ESPN+

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (13-10) are on their way to Great Southern Bank Arena on Thursday where they will try to defeat the Missouri State Bears (13-10).

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs played Sam Houston State and earned the victory with a final of 87-78 in their last game. In reference to personal fouls, the Bulldogs walked away with 15 and Sam Houston State racked up 22 personal fouls. They also made 13 out of their 27 attempts from three-point range. Sam Houston State finished 71.4% from the free throw line by knocking down 15 of 21 shots. In addition, Sam Houston State grabbed 24 rebounds (5 offensive, 19 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Sam Houston State recorded 14 dimes and had 9 steals for the contest. With respect to defending, Louisiana Tech let their opponent shoot 43.9% from the floor on 25 out of 57 shooting. They also distributed 17 assists for this contest in addition to forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and earning 10 steals. In reference to grabbing rebounds, they collected 43 with 16 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the Bulldogs converted 26 of their 35 tries for a rate of 74.3%. Louisiana Tech finished the contest with a 46.2% FG percentage (30 of 65) and knocked down 1 out of their 17 shots from beyond the perimeter.

AJ Bates is someone who was a contributor in the matchup. He walked away with 21 points on 5 of 9 shooting. He played 28 minutes played but did not grab any boards. He went 55.6% from the floor and also dished out 6 assists.

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Louisiana Tech enters this matchup with a record of 13-10 so far this year. They average 69.0 pts per game (325th in the country) while going 43.4% from the field. The Bulldogs are shooting 29.2% on shots from distance (127 of 435) and 65.0% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Louisiana Tech is collecting 39.7 rebounds per contest and has racked up 277 assists this year, which ranks 335th in D-1 in terms of passing. They are giving up possession 11.8 times per contest and as a unit they commit 16.0 personal fouls per game.

On the defensive end, the Bulldogs are forcing 11.9 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.6 fouls. They are relinquishing 31.7% on 3-pointers while they are 5th in Division 1 in points per game from their opponents (63.3). The Bulldogs defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 39.0% (489 of 1,253) and they concede 32.9 rebounds per game as a team. They are ranked 40th in college in allowing assists with 270 surrendered so far this year.

When they last played, the Missouri State Bears took a loss by a final score of 79-76 against Liberty. In relation to how they cleaned up the glass, Missouri State permitted Liberty to snag 25 in all (3 on the offensive glass). They finished shooting 35.0% from 3-point land by hitting 7 of 20 and walked away from this one shooting 18 of 28 from the charity stripe (64.3%). The Bears permitted Liberty to convert 27 of 49 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 55.1% in the game. In all, the Bears ended up going 27 out of 56 from the field which had them sitting at 48.2%. In terms of shooting from beyond the arc, Missouri State made 8 of their 17 tries (47.1%). They were able to make 14 of the free throw tries for a rate of 53.8%. Liberty earned 17 personal fouls in the game which took the Bears to the charity stripe for 26 attempts. They coughed up the ball 10 times, while recording 5 steals for this game. The Bears were able to pull down 21 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards totaling 31 in the matchup.

Keith Palek III ended up being important for the Bears for this game. He totaled 25 points in his 29 minutes on the hardwood and had 2 assists for the game. He buried 9 of 17 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 52.9%, and totaled 9 rebounds.

Missouri State has a mark of 13-10 this season. As an offensive team, the Bears are shooting 45.3% from the field, which is ranked 182nd in college hoops. Missouri State has scored 1,733 pts on the campaign (75.3 per game) and they pull in 35.1 boards per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.1 times per contest (174th in college hoops) and they are turning it over 11.6 times per game. The Bears commit 17.7 fouls per game and they go 67.1% from the charity stripe.

The Missouri State defense gives up 33.5% on 3-point shots (156 of 466) and their opponents are knocking down 70.8% of their free throw shots. They concede 13.1 assists and 33.7 rebounds every game, which ranks them 158th and 137th in the country. The Bears defensively are ranked 148th in college hoops in PPG allowed with 72.6. They are forcing their opponents into 12.0 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 44.7% from the floor (228th in college hoops).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Missouri State

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