Niagara Purple Eagles vs Iona Gaels Prediction, 1/9/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Niagara Purple Eagles vs Iona Gaels

Date: Friday, January 9, 2026

Location: Hynes Athletics Center in New Rochelle, NY

TV: ESPN+

Hynes Athletics Center is the location where the Iona Gaels (10-6) will try to defeat the Niagara Purple Eagles (4-10) on Friday.

The Niagara Purple Eagles played Fairfield and took a loss by a score of 83-75 in their last contest. With respect to fouls, the Purple Eagles finished with 13 and Fairfield finished the game with 8 fouls. They also converted 6 out of their 16 attempts from downtown. Fairfield finished the contest at 90.5% when shooting free throws by converting 19 of their 21 shots. On top of that, Fairfield collected 24 rebounds (6 offensive, 18 defensive), but didn't have a block. Fairfield distributed 9 assists and had 5 steals for the contest. In terms of defense, Niagara allowed the other team to go 50.9% from the field on 29 out of 57 shooting. They also doled out 14 assists in this game while forcing 5 turnovers and having 3 steals. In relation to grabbing rebounds, they earned 23 with 7 of them being offensive. When they shot from the free throw line, the Purple Eagles made 4 of 4 shots for a rate of 100.0%. Niagara ended the game with a 54.4% FG percentage (31 of 57) and buried 9 of their 23 3-point attempts.

Justin Page is one guy who came through in this matchup. He finished 61.5% from the floor and earned 2 assists. He saw the court for 31 minutes and totaled 4 boards. He was able to score 21 points on 8 of 13 shooting.

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Niagara will enter this contest with a mark of 4-10 so far this year. They are turning it over 11.6 times per contest and as a squad they commit 15.8 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Niagara is snagging 27.6 boards per game and has 182 assists on the campaign, which ranks 326th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. The Purple Eagles are hitting 30.8% from downtown (92 of 299) and 72.5% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 63.7 points per outing (356th in college) while going 43.2% from the field.

On defense, the Purple Eagles are able to force 11.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 16.1 personal fouls. They concede 37.5% on shots from downtown and they rank 215th in the country in points per game allowed (74.6). The Purple Eagles defense is giving up a FG percentage of 47.3% (355 of 750) and they surrender 34.6 rebounds per contest as a unit. They rank 88th in college in allowing assists with 185 conceded on the season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Iona Gaels took a loss by a score of 83-38 when they faced Marist. The Gaels were able to pull down 27 defensive boards and 3 offensive rebounds for a total of 30 for the game. They also turned the ball over 24 times, while getting 6 steals for the game. Marist had 17 fouls for the game which took the Gaels to the free throw line for 17 tries. They were able to convert 9 of them for a rate of 52.9%. Concerning three-point attempts, Iona made 1 of 14 attempts (7.1%). When the final whistle was blown, the Gaels shot 14 for 44 from the floor which had them sitting at 31.8%. The Gaels permitted Marist to make 31 out of 68 tries from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 45.6% in this contest. They shot 27.6% from downtown by going 8 of 29 and ended up going 13 out of 15 from the free throw line (86.7%). When talking about attacking the glass, Iona permitted Marist to collect 40 in all (9 on the offensive side).

CJ Anthony ended up having an impact for the Gaels for the game. He scored 11 points in his 23 mins on the court and had 2 dimes for this contest. He converted 4 of 6 in this matchup giving him a rate of 66.7%, and had 2 rebounds.

Iona has a win-loss mark of 10-6 on the campaign. When it comes to offensive execution, the Gaels are shooting 44.4% from the floor, which has them ranked 238th in college. Iona has accounted for 1,218 pts this season (76.1 per game) and they collect 35.3 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 13.9 times per contest (218th in Division 1) and they turn the ball over 12.8 times per game. The Gaels have committed 15.5 personal fouls every game and they connect on 71.0% from the charity stripe.

The Iona defense gives up 30.3% on shots from 3-point land (128 of 422) and their opposition makes 69.7% of their foul shots. They relinquish 16.3 dimes and 39.3 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 334th and 344th in those categories. The Gaels on defense are ranked 286th in college in points allowed per contest with 77.6. They are able to force 12.6 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.4% from the field (238th in D-1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Iona

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