Norfolk State Spartans vs Howard Bison Prediction, 1/31/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Norfolk State Spartans vs Howard Bison

Date: Saturday, January 31, 2026

Location: Burr Gymnasium in Washington, DC

TV: ESPNU

Burr Gymnasium is the location where the Howard Bison (12-9) will take on the Norfolk State Spartans (10-13) on Saturday.

The Norfolk State Spartans took the court against Morgan State and took a loss by a score of 79-78 in their last contest. Concerning personal fouls, the Spartans finished with 18 and Morgan State finished the game with 16 personal fouls. They also buried 9 out of their 24 attempts from three-point range. Morgan State finished the game at 76.9% from the charity stripe by converting 20 of their 26 shots. Furthermore, Morgan State totaled 33 rebounds (3 offensive, 30 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Morgan State doled out 10 dimes and had 8 steals for the matchup. With respect to defense, Norfolk State allowed their opponent to shoot 46.3% from the floor on 25 out of 54 shooting. They also dished out 13 assists for this contest while forcing the other team into 13 turnovers and getting 10 steals. Regarding hauling in rebounds, they earned a total of 38 with 13 of them being offensive. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Spartans knocked down 16 of their 27 tries for a percentage of 59.3%. Norfolk State wrapped up the contest having earned a 41.4% field goal percentage (29 out of 70) and made 4 out of their 21 three-point shots.

Jaquel Morris is one player who was a major factor in this game. He shot 91.7% from the field but had no assists when the time ran out. He played 21 minutes played and collected 6 rebounds. He ended up with 23 points on 11 out of 12 shooting.

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Norfolk State will play this game with a record of 10-13 for the campaign. They turn it over 12.3 times per contest and as a team are committing 19.3 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Norfolk State is pulling down 35.9 boards per game and is sitting with 280 dimes on the campaign, which has them ranked 232nd in college in terms of passing the ball. The Spartans are hitting 33.1% on 3-pointers (133 of 402) and 67.5% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 76.4 pts per contest (187th in the nation) while going 46.3% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Spartans are forcing their opponents into 13.4 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.3 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 327th in Division 1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 336 surrendered for the campaign. The Spartans defense is giving up a FG percentage of 43.4% (562 of 1,296) and they surrender 33.6 boards per game as a team. They relinquish 31.1% on shots from beyond the arc and they rank 162nd in the country in points per game allowed (73.0).

For their last game, the Howard Bison walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 78-77 against Morgan State. The Bison earned 24 defensive boards and 14 offensive rebounds totaling 38 for this game. They also coughed up the ball 15 times, while getting 8 steals for the contest. Morgan State committed 24 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Bison to the charity stripe for a total of 40 tries. They were able to knock down 32 of the free throws for a rate of 80.0%. With regard to shooting from distance, Howard knocked down 3 of 18 tries (16.7%). When the game finished, the Bison shot 21 out of 68 from the field which gave them a percentage of 30.9%. The Bison allowed Morgan State to bury 24 of their 70 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 34.3% for this contest. They finished 33.3% from behind the 3-point line by connecting on 7 out of 21 and ended up shooting 23 out of 29 from the free throw line (79.3%). When discussing rebounding, Howard allowed Morgan State to get 28 in total (7 on the offensive glass).

Cedric Taylor III pitched in for the Bison in the matchup. He knocked down 8 of 20 for the matchup for a field goal rate of 40.0%, and had 6 rebounds. He accumulated 29 points in his 34 mins of playing time and accounted for 2 dimes for the game.

Howard has a mark of 12-9 so far this season. The Bison are committing 20.1 personal fouls every game and they connect on 71.1% from the charity stripe. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 14.8 times per game (140th in D-1) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 13.6 times per contest. Howard has totaled 1,554 points on the campaign (74.0 per game) and they snag 36.0 rebounds per game. As an offensive team, the Bison are hitting on 43.8% from the floor, which is ranked 268th in the country.

The Bison defensively are ranked 85th in college hoops in points given up per game with 70.0. They are forcing their opponents into 15.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 43.1% from the field (147th in college hoops). The Howard defense allows 31.9% on shots from 3-point land (132 of 414) and opponents are connecting on 71.7% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have given up 11.0 dimes and 32.9 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks them 31st and 84th in those defensive categories.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Norfolk State

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