Murray State Racers vs Belmont Bruins Prediction, 1/31/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Murray State Racers vs Belmont Bruins

Date: Saturday, January 31, 2026

Location: Curb Event Center Arena in Nashville, TN

TV: CBSSN

Curb Event Center Arena is the site where the Belmont Bruins (19-3) will compete against the Murray State Racers (16-6) on Saturday.

The Murray State Racers faced off with Illinois State and went home with a loss by a final score of 70-65 in their last contest. Murray State wrapped up the contest with a 38.3% FG percentage (23 out of 60) and buried 4 out of their 22 shots from distance. At the charity stripe, the Racers knocked down 15 of their 17 attempts for a rate of 88.2%. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they collected 31 with 6 of them being offensive. They also doled out 8 assists in this game in addition to forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and getting 9 steals. In regard to defending, Murray State allowed the other team to shoot 50.0% from the floor on 28 of 56 shooting. Illinois State doled out 9 dimes and had 5 steals for the game. On top of that, Illinois State snagged 36 boards (6 offensive, 30 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Illinois State shot 57.1% from the free throw line by burying 8 of their 14 attempts. They also converted 6 of their 16 tries from three-point range. In regard to fouls, the Racers ended up with 15 and Illinois State had 15 fouls.

Fredrick King is one player who was important in the game. He finished the contest at 80.0% from the floor but wasn't able to get a dime. He saw the court for 29 minutes and also pulled down 11 rebounds. He walked away with 19 points on 8 out of 10 shooting.

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Murray State enters this game with a record of 16-6 this year. They are averaging 86.3 pts per contest (22nd in the nation) while connecting on 46.9% from the field. The Racers are shooting 35.4% on shots from distance (218 of 616) and 76.4% from the charity stripe. As a team, Murray State is grabbing 37.9 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 323 assists on the campaign, which is 108th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 11.7 times per contest and as a unit are committing 18.8 personal fouls per game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Racers are forcing 11.9 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.2 personal fouls. They are surrendering 34.6% on 3-point attempts and they are ranked 296th in D-1 in opponents points per game (78.2). The Racers defense is giving up a FG percentage of 45.7% (638 of 1,396) and they concede 35.3 rebounds per game as a squad. They are currently ranked 85th in the country in allowing assists to the opposition with 253 surrendered this year.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Belmont Bruins took home the win by a final score of 78-77 when they faced Valparaiso. In reference to attacking the glass, Belmont allowed Valparaiso to snag 26 overall (8 on the offensive glass). They shot 33.3% from downtown by going 9 out of 27 and walked away from this one shooting 16 of 21 from the charity stripe (76.2%). The Bruins permitted Valparaiso to bury 26 out of 61 attempts from the floor which had them sitting at 42.6% for this game. When the game finished, the Bruins ended up going 27 out of 50 from the floor which gave them a rate of 54.0%. In terms of shooting from distance, Belmont buried 11 out of their 24 attempts (45.8%). They were able to make 13 of them for a rate of 65.0%. Valparaiso committed 20 personal fouls for the game which took the Bruins to the charity stripe for a total of 20 tries. They also gave up possession of the ball 14 times, while recording 3 steals in this contest. The Bruins were able to snag 22 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards for a total of 27 for the game.

Eoin Dillon was important for the Bruins for the game. He buried 7 out of 11 for the contest for a rate of 63.6%, and had 1 rebound. He racked up 23 points in his 23 mins on the court and had 3 dimes in this game.

Belmont has a record of 19-3 on the campaign. When it comes to executing on offense, the Bruins are hitting on 51.3% from the floor, which ranks them 9th in the country. Belmont has scored 1,810 pts on the season (82.3 per contest) and they grab 37.7 rebounds per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 17.8 times per game (23rd in Division 1) and they are turning it over 13.3 times per game. The Bruins are committing 17.2 fouls every game and they hit 67.4% from the charity stripe.

The Bruins on the defensive end are ranked 92nd in college in points per game surrendered with 70.1. They are able to force 12.9 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 38.5% from the floor (7th in college). The Belmont defense allows 32.5% on shots from 3-point land (221 of 679) and their opposition knocks down 73.3% of their foul shots. They have conceded 12.7 assists and 33.7 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 131st and 141st in Division 1.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Murray State

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