Northern Colorado Bears vs Northern Arizona Lumberjacks Prediction, 1/24/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northern Colorado Bears vs Northern Arizona Lumberjacks

Date: Saturday, January 24, 2026

Location: J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, AZ

TV: ESPN+

The Northern Colorado Bears (11-9) are hitting the road to J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome on Saturday where they will compete against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (6-14).

The Northern Colorado Bears faced Montana State and took a loss by a score of 73-68 in their last game. Regarding fouls, the Bears walked away with 16 and Montana State totaled 13 fouls. They also converted 11 of their 26 shots from three-point range. Montana State ended up going 76.2% at the charity stripe by knocking down 16 of 21 attempts. Moreover, Montana State totaled 24 rebounds (4 offensive, 20 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Montana State dished out 8 dimes and had 9 steals in the matchup. With respect to the defense, Northern Colorado allowed their opponent to shoot 42.6% from the floor on 23 out of 54 shooting. They also doled out 14 assists in the matchup as well as forcing the other team into 5 turnovers and having 2 steals. In relation to grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 42 with 15 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Bears made 1 of their 3 tries for a rate of 33.3%. Northern Colorado finished the contest having earned a 42.9% field goal percentage (30 of 70) and converted 7 out of their 21 three-point shots.

Brock Wisne is someone who was a major factor for this game. He recorded 18 points on 9 of 14 shooting. He played for 36 minutes and also collected 7 boards. He finished the game at 64.3% from the field and distributed 5 dimes.

Get all of our NCAA Picks Today

Northern Colorado comes into this contest with a record of 11-9 so far this year. They average 83.5 points per game (60th in the nation) while shooting 48.7% from the field. The Bears are connecting on 36.6% on three-point attempts (203 of 555) and 75.5% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Northern Colorado is grabbing 37.1 boards per contest and has accounted for 346 dimes on the campaign, which is 30th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They turn the ball over 11.7 times per game and as a group they are committing 18.2 fouls per contest.

On the defensive end, the Bears are forcing 10.0 turnovers every game while drawing 15.6 personal fouls. They concede 29.6% on shots from downtown while they are 289th in the nation in points per game allowed (77.9). The Bears defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 45.4% (551 of 1,213) and they concede 32.0 boards per game as a unit. They are ranked 16th in college in giving up assists with 199 relinquished so far this season.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks went home defeated by a final of 98-72 against Montana. The Lumberjacks were able to pull down 12 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards for a total of 17 for the game. They turned it over 7 times, while recording 3 steals in the game. Montana was called for 13 fouls in this contest which got the Lumberjacks to the charity stripe for a total of 16 shots. They were able to make 10 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 62.5%. When talking about three-point shots, Northern Arizona converted 10 of their 29 attempts (34.5%). When the final whistle blew, the Lumberjacks walked away from this one shooting 26 for 53 from the field which gave them a rate of 49.1%. The Lumberjacks permitted Montana to bury 36 of their 53 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 67.9% for the contest. They went 59.1% from three-point range by hitting 13 of 22 and ended up shooting 13 of 16 from the charity stripe (81.3%). Regarding cleaning the glass, Northern Arizona allowed Montana to snag 29 in total (5 offensive).

Karl Markus Poom was important for the Lumberjacks for this game. He converted 7 out of 10 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 70.0%, and tallied 2 rebounds. He recorded 16 points in his 25 minutes on the hardwood and accumulated 3 dimes for the contest.

Northern Arizona has a mark of 6-14 on the campaign. The Lumberjacks commit 17.4 personal fouls every game while shooting 65.9% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 13.8 times per game (212th in the nation) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 11.5 times per game. Northern Arizona has totaled 1,446 points on the campaign (72.3 per game) and they pull in 32.2 rebounds per game. As an offensive unit, the Lumberjacks are hitting on 46.5% from the field, which ranks them 121st in the nation.

The Northern Arizona defense surrenders 37.4% on three-point shots (177 of 473) and their opponents are making 74.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They have allowed 14.3 dimes and 35.6 boards every game, which ranks 252nd and 244th in those categories on the defensive end. The Lumberjacks on the defensive side of the court are 231st in college hoops in PPG allowed with 75.7. They are able to force 12.4 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.3% from the field (304th in college hoops).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Northern Colorado

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Get college basketball picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bets by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.