North Florida Ospreys vs Central Arkansas Bears Prediction, 1/17/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: North Florida Ospreys vs Central Arkansas Bears

Date: Saturday, January 17, 2026

Location: Farris Center in Conway, AR

TV: ESPN+

The North Florida Ospreys (2-15) are headed to Farris Center on Saturday where they will attempt to beat the Central Arkansas Bears (7-10).

The North Florida Ospreys stepped onto the hardwood against Queens and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 89-82 in their last game. In the matter of personal fouls, the Ospreys ended up with 18 while Queens racked up 13 personal fouls. They made 11 of their 34 shots from distance. Queens walked away from this one shooting 75.0% from the free throw line by converting 18 of their 24 tries. On top of that, Queens had 39 boards (12 offensive, 27 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Queens distributed 14 dimes and had 6 steals for the contest. In reference to defense, North Florida allowed the other team to go 46.2% from the floor on 30 out of 65 shooting. They also recorded 19 dimes in this matchup as well as forcing 9 turnovers and earning 5 steals. When it comes to pulling down boards, they collected 26 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. From the free throw line, the Ospreys knocked down 10 of 12 shots for a rate of 83.3%. North Florida finished the contest with a 46.3% field goal percentage (31 of 67) and knocked down 10 of their 32 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Kamrin Oriol is a player who had an impact for this contest. He finished the game at 57.1% from the field and recorded 4 assists. He saw the court for 39 minutes played and grabbed 3 rebounds. He accumulated 29 points on 12 out of 21 shooting.

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North Florida heads into this one with a win-loss record of 2-15 for the year. They turn the ball over 13.5 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 18.7 personal fouls per contest. As a unit, North Florida is snagging 31.4 rebounds per game and has accounted for 244 dimes on the season, which has them ranked 202nd in college hoops in terms of passing the rock. The Ospreys are shooting 34.5% on shots from distance (191 of 553) and 77.3% from the free throw line. They are averaging 78.8 points per game (140th in D-1) while going 43.9% from the field.

Defensively, the Ospreys have forced 11.5 turnovers per contest while drawing 15.0 fouls. They relinquish 34.0% on shots from distance while they are 364th in college hoops in PPG from their opponents (90.1). The Ospreys defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 49.1% (558 of 1,136) and they relinquish 41.7 rebounds per contest as a group. They currently rank 346th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 295 conceded on the campaign.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Central Arkansas Bears took a loss by a score of 79-75 when they faced Eastern Kentucky. In regard to attacking the glass, Central Arkansas permitted Eastern Kentucky to pull down 30 in all (9 offensive). They finished 42.2% from beyond the arc by connecting on 19 out of 45 and ended up shooting 4 out of 7 at the free throw line (57.1%). The Bears allowed Eastern Kentucky to knock down 28 of 64 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 43.8% for this contest. When the final whistle was blown, the Bears walked away from this one shooting 27 out of 63 from the field which had them shooting 42.9%. With regard to 3-pointers, Central Arkansas made 10 out of 33 tries (30.3%). They were able to bury 11 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 73.3%. Eastern Kentucky committed 15 personal fouls in the game which took the Bears to the free throw line for 15 attempts. They also turned it over 12 times, while getting 9 steals in this contest. The Bears recorded 26 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 37 for this contest.

Camren Hunter pitched in for the Bears for this contest. He tallied 25 points in his 39 minutes on the court and had 4 dimes in this game. He converted 10 of 19 in this matchup giving him a rate of 52.6%, and accumulated 4 rebounds.

Central Arkansas has a win-loss mark of 7-10 so far this season. In terms of offensive execution, the Bears are hitting on 43.5% from the floor, which ranks them 273rd in the country. Central Arkansas has totaled 1,323 points on the campaign (77.8 per contest) and they average 37.9 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 15.9 times per contest (88th in the nation) and they are turning it over 12.2 times per contest. The Bears are committing 15.6 fouls per contest and they shoot 67.5% from the charity stripe.

The Central Arkansas defense gives up 32.7% from downtown (180 of 551) and opponents are converting on 73.6% of their foul shots. They have allowed 16.1 assists and 35.8 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is ranked 329th and 258th in college hoops. The Bears on defense are ranked 237th in the country in points given up per game with 75.5. They are forcing their opponents into 13.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 44.2% from the field (212th in the country).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Central Arkansas

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