Northern Colorado Bears vs Montana Grizzlies Prediction, 1/3/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northern Colorado Bears vs Montana Grizzlies

Date: Saturday, January 3, 2026

Location: Dahlberg Arena in Missoula, MT

TV: ESPN+

Dahlberg Arena is the location where the Montana Grizzlies (6-7) will play the Northern Colorado Bears (10-3) on Saturday.

The Northern Colorado Bears faced Colorado and went home with a win by a final score of 86-81 in their last game. With respect to personal fouls, the Bears ended up finishing with 12 and Colorado totaled 14 personal fouls. They knocked down 7 of their 23 shots from long range. Colorado ended up going 93.3% from the free throw line by knocking down 14 of 15 attempts. Furthermore, Colorado snagged 33 boards (14 offensive, 19 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Colorado doled out 11 assists and had 5 steals for the contest. Regarding defending, Northern Colorado let their opponent shoot 39.5% from the field on 30 out of 76 shooting. They also recorded 17 assists in this game while forcing 5 turnovers and having 2 steals. When it comes to hauling in boards, they earned 33 with 4 of them being of the offensive variety. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Bears made 13 of 17 tries for a percentage of 76.5%. Northern Colorado finished having earned a 52.5% FG percentage (31 of 59) and made 11 out of their 21 3-pointers.

Quinn Denker is a player who was a contributor in this matchup. He ended up scoring 33 points on 12 out of 18 shooting. He played 38 mins and totaled 8 boards. He finished the game at 66.7% from the floor and also earned 8 assists.

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Northern Colorado heads into this game with a mark of 10-3 this year. They cough up possession 11.6 times per contest and as a team they commit 16.5 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Northern Colorado is collecting 37.7 rebounds per contest and has earned 235 assists this season, which has them ranked 57th in the country in terms of passing the rock. The Bears are hitting 38.0% on shots from beyond the arc (139 of 366) and 74.9% from the charity stripe. They average 86.8 pts per contest (45th in D-1) while shooting 50.8% from the floor.

On the defensive end of the court, the Bears are forcing 10.1 turnovers per game while drawing 15.5 fouls. They are giving up 28.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are ranked 252nd in D-1 in points per game from their opponents (76.2). The Bears defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 45.1% (366 of 812) and they surrender 31.0 boards per contest as a team. They are currently ranked 20th in college in allowing assists with 132 surrendered on the season.

The last time they took the court, the Montana Grizzlies took a loss by a final score of 94-54 against Louisville. When it comes to rebounds, Montana allowed Louisville to collect 46 in total (12 offensive). They finished 35.3% from distance by going 12 of 34 and finished the game at 14 of 19 from the charity stripe (73.7%). The Grizzlies allowed Louisville to bury 34 of 65 attempts from the field which had them shooting 52.3% for the contest. When the final whistle blew, the Grizzlies finished shooting 17 for 53 from the floor which had them at 32.1%. In reference to shooting from downtown, Montana buried 7 of 24 attempts (29.2%). They were able to convert 13 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 86.7%. Louisville committed 15 fouls for this game which took the Grizzlies to the free throw line for a total of 15 tries. They coughed up the ball 19 times, while getting 9 steals in the matchup. The Grizzlies collected 20 defensive boards and 4 offensive boards for a total of 24 for this game.

Grant Kepley ended up having an impact for the Grizzlies in the game. He tallied 15 points in his 25 mins on the court and accounted for 1 assist for this game. He converted 5 out of 12 for the contest for a rate of 41.7%, and added 1 rebound.

Montana has a mark of 6-7 this year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Grizzlies are shooting 49.2% from the floor, which ranks them 48th in Division 1. Montana has earned 1,052 pts this season (80.9 per game) and they pull in 38.2 boards per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 16.2 times per contest (96th in college) and they turn it over 14.5 times per contest. The Grizzlies have committed 17.8 fouls per game and they hit 73.4% from the charity stripe.

The Montana defense allows 30.0% on shots from beyond the perimeter (91 of 303) and their opponents are converting on 68.3% of their free throw shots. They allow 13.2 dimes and 34.5 rebounds every game, which ranks them 178th and 184th in Division 1. The Grizzlies on the defensive end are ranked 221st in Division 1 in points given up per game with 74.8. They have forced 11.0 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 42.7% from the floor (147th in college).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Northern Colorado

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