Marshall Thundering Herd vs James Madison Dukes Prediction, 1/7/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Marshall Thundering Herd vs James Madison Dukes

Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Location: Atlantic Union Bank Center in Harrisonburg, VA

TV: ESPN+

Atlantic Union Bank Center is the site where the James Madison Dukes (8-7) will attempt to defeat the Marshall Thundering Herd (10-5) on Wednesday.

The Marshall Thundering Herd faced Appalachian State and earned the victory with a final of 88-81 in their last game. When discussing fouls, the Thundering Herd finished with 25 while Appalachian State recorded 17 fouls. They knocked down 8 of their 23 attempts from downtown. Appalachian State finished shooting 54.8% when shooting free throws by knocking down 17 of 31 shots. On top of that, Appalachian State pulled down 33 rebounds (11 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Appalachian State doled out 12 assists and had 4 steals for this contest. When discussing defending, Marshall allowed their opponent to shoot 47.5% from the field on 28 of 59 shooting. They also dished out 20 assists in the game in addition to forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and earning 4 steals. Regarding getting rebounds, they earned 28 with 4 of them being of the offensive sort. From the charity stripe, the Thundering Herd converted 18 of 25 attempts for a rate of 72.0%. Marshall ended the contest with a 52.7% FG percentage (29 out of 55) and made 12 out of their 24 3-point attempts.

Jalen Speer is someone who was a major contributor for this game. He finished the contest at 46.7% from the field and dished out 7 dimes. He played 33 mins and snagged 2 rebounds. He finished with 21 points on 7 out of 15 shooting.

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Marshall comes into this one with a win-loss mark of 10-5 for the year. They average 80.7 pts per game (111th in the nation) while connecting on 46.7% from the floor. The Thundering Herd are connecting on 36.0% on shots from distance (152 of 422) and 74.5% from the charity stripe. As a team, Marshall is pulling in 39.1 boards per game and has tallied 266 dimes this year, which is 34th in the country in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 13.2 times per game and as a unit they are committing 20.4 fouls per game.

Defensively, the Thundering Herd are forcing 11.9 turnovers every game and they draw 17.0 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 132nd in college in giving up assists to the opposition with 188 surrendered this season. The Thundering Herd are giving up a FG percentage of 41.3% (379 of 918) and they relinquish 35.7 rebounds per game as a team. They concede 32.6% on shots from downtown and they rank 243rd in college in PPG allowed (75.6).

When they last stepped on the court, the James Madison Dukes got the victory with a final of 78-74 when they played Arkansas State. The Dukes were able to snag 29 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 36 in this contest. They gave up possession of the ball 14 times, while earning 5 steals in the matchup. Arkansas State committed 18 personal fouls in this game which got the Dukes to the charity stripe for a total of 26 attempts. They were able to knock down 16 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 61.5%. In relation to three-point attempts, James Madison buried 8 of 17 tries (47.1%). Overall, the Dukes shot 27 for 51 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 52.9%. The Dukes allowed Arkansas State to make 25 out of their 70 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 35.7% in this game. They finished shooting 25.0% from 3-point land by going 8 of 32 and walked away from this one shooting 16 of 27 from the free throw line (59.3%). When talking about rebounding, James Madison permitted Arkansas State to collect 41 in all (19 on the offensive glass).

Cliff Davis ended up being important for the Dukes for this game. He tallied 24 points in his 35 minutes on the hardwood and totaled 1 assist for this game. He knocked down 7 of 12 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 58.3%, and had 2 rebounds.

James Madison has a win-loss mark of 8-7 for the season. When it comes to offensive execution, the Dukes are shooting 44.6% from the floor, which ranks them 233rd in college. James Madison has accumulated 1,138 points for the year (75.9 per game) and they collect 35.9 boards per contest. Their rate of earning assists is at 13.5 times per contest (249th in the nation) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 11.5 times per game. The Dukes have committed 20.5 fouls per game and they connect on 71.3% from the free throw line.

The James Madison defense allows 33.5% on shots from distance (112 of 334) and their opponents are converting on 72.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have allowed 12.9 dimes and 36.3 boards on a nightly basis, which is 148th and 272nd in those categories on the defensive end. The Dukes on the defensive end are ranked 289th in college hoops in PPG given up with 77.7. They are forcing 9.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 44.3% from the field (230th in college).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Marshall

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