NJIT Highlanders vs Vermont Catamounts Prediction, 1/31/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: NJIT Highlanders vs Vermont Catamounts

Date: Saturday, January 31, 2026

Location: Patrick Gymnasium in Burlington, VT

TV: ESPN+

The Vermont Catamounts (13-8) host the NJIT Highlanders (9-12) at Patrick Gymnasium on Saturday.

The NJIT Highlanders faced UMBC and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 87-74 in their last contest. NJIT finished the contest with a 43.8% field goal percentage (28 of 64) and converted 6 of their 20 three-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Highlanders made 12 of their 23 shots for a percentage of 52.2%. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they collected 37 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 7 assists in the game in addition to forcing 5 turnovers and getting 2 steals. In relation to the defense, NJIT allowed 51.8% from the floor on 29 out of 56 shooting. UMBC distributed 9 dimes and had 3 steals in this game. Furthermore, UMBC had 33 rebounds (5 offensive, 28 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. UMBC went 76.7% at the charity stripe by burying 23 of their 30 shots. They converted 6 of 20 shots from downtown. When discussing personal fouls, the Highlanders ended up finishing with 22 and UMBC accounted for 18 personal fouls.

Sebastian Robinson is someone who played a role in this contest. He totaled 19 points on 8 out of 17 shooting. He played 32 mins played and also pulled down 1 rebound. He ended up going 47.1% from the floor and also earned 2 assists.

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NJIT will enter this matchup with a mark of 9-12 on the campaign. They have an average of 67.3 pts per game (336th in the country) while connecting on 39.0% from the field. The Highlanders are hitting 31.1% on shots from downtown (164 of 528) and 72.1% from the charity stripe. As a team, NJIT is snagging 34.7 boards per contest and has accumulated 224 assists this year, which ranks 349th in the country in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 12.5 times per game and as a unit they commit 18.9 fouls per game.

Defensively, the Highlanders have forced 11.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 16.9 fouls. They relinquish 33.7% from 3-point land and they rank 240th in Division 1 in points per game from their opponents (75.8). The Highlanders defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 43.8% (544 of 1,241) and they concede 39.0 rebounds per contest as a group. They rank 239th in the country in allowing assists to the opposition with 294 conceded this year.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Vermont Catamounts got the victory with a final of 62-52 against Bryant. The Catamounts were able to corral 20 defensive boards and 13 offensive boards totaling 33 in this contest. They gave up possession of the ball 6 times, while recording 3 steals in the matchup. Bryant had 17 personal fouls in the game which took the Catamounts to the charity stripe for 20 tries. They were able to bury 15 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 75.0%. Concerning three-point shots, Vermont converted 9 out of their 26 tries (34.6%). When the final whistle was blown, the Catamounts finished the game shooting 19 for 52 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 36.5%. The Catamounts permitted Bryant to make 15 out of 47 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 31.9% for the contest. They finished the game shooting 17.4% from three-point range by connecting on 4 of 23 and finished the contest at 18 out of 22 at the charity stripe (81.8%). Regarding rebounding, Vermont permitted Bryant to pull down 24 overall (6 offensive).

TJ Hurley ended up being a major contributor for the Catamounts in this contest. He accumulated 26 points in his 31 mins on the court and had 2 assists in this game. He knocked down 8 out of 16 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and added 2 rebounds.

Vermont has a win-loss mark of 13-8 so far this season. As an offense, the Catamounts are shooting 46.9% from the floor, which ranks them 97th in the country. Vermont has totaled 1,576 pts on the season (75.0 per contest) and they average 35.2 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 12.9 times per contest (265th in college) and they are giving up possession 9.5 times per game. The Catamounts are responsible for committing 17.0 fouls per game and they hit 74.2% from the charity stripe.

The Vermont defense concedes 35.1% on 3-point shots (173 of 493) and their opponents are making 74.4% of their free throw attempts. They surrender 12.7 assists and 31.0 rebounds per contest, ranking them 121st and 32nd in the country. The Catamounts are ranked 112th in the nation in PPG surrendered with 71.0. They have forced 9.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 43.4% from the floor (164th in college).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take NJIT

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