Northern Colorado Bears vs Portland State Vikings Prediction, 1/15/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northern Colorado Bears vs Portland State Vikings

Date: Thursday, January 15, 2026

Location: Viking Pavilion in Portland, OR

TV: ESPN+

Viking Pavilion is the location where the Portland State Vikings (9-5) will attempt to beat the Northern Colorado Bears (11-6) on Thursday.

The Northern Colorado Bears took the court against Weber State and took a loss by a score of 76-71 in their last contest. Regarding personal fouls, the Bears walked away with 23 while Weber State finished the game with 20 personal fouls. They also converted 3 of 10 shots from beyond the arc. Weber State finished 69.7% at the charity stripe by burying 23 of their 33 tries. In addition, Weber State grabbed 27 boards (8 offensive, 19 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Weber State distributed 4 assists and had 6 steals in this matchup. Concerning the defense, Northern Colorado allowed the other team to go 47.2% from the field on 25 out of 53 shooting. They also doled out 10 assists in this game as well as forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and earning 5 steals. When discussing grabbing boards, they compiled 30 with 10 of them being offensive. When they shot from the free throw line, the Bears made 16 of 20 shots for a percentage of 80.0%. Northern Colorado ended the contest having earned a 45.8% FG percentage (27 of 59) and converted 1 of their 14 three-point attempts.

Brock Wisne is a guy who played a role in this game. He finished the game shooting 46.2% from the floor and also totaled 2 assists. He played 35 mins played and pulled down 7 boards. He walked away with 17 points on 6 of 13 shooting.

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Northern Colorado heads into this matchup with a win-loss record of 11-6 this season. They currently have an average of 84.6 points per game (55th in the nation) on 49.1% from the field. The Bears are connecting on 37.1% from downtown (176 of 475) and 76.0% from the free throw line. As a team, Northern Colorado is collecting 37.2 rebounds per contest and has racked up 292 assists on the campaign, which has them ranked 48th in the country in terms of passing. They turn it over 11.4 times per contest and as a team they commit 17.8 personal fouls every game.

On the defensive end, the Bears are able to force 9.9 turnovers every game and they draw 15.7 fouls. They are ranked 7th in the country in allowing assists with 162 surrendered this year. The Bears defensively are allowing a shooting percentage of 45.6% (473 of 1,037) and they surrender 31.5 rebounds per game as a team. They are surrendering 28.7% from beyond the arc and they are 286th in college in points per game from their opponents (77.4).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Portland State Vikings walked away with a victory by a final of 96-69 when they played Sacramento State. The Vikings earned 33 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 43 for the contest. They coughed it up 11 times, while earning 4 steals for the matchup. Sacramento State had 17 personal fouls for this contest which got the Vikings to the free throw line for a total of 20 attempts. They were able to convert 16 of them for a clip of 80.0%. In relation to shooting from beyond the arc, Portland State converted 10 of 25 attempts (40.0%). When the final whistle blew, the Vikings finished shooting 35 for 64 from the field which gave them a rate of 54.7%. The Vikings allowed Sacramento State to make 22 out of their 62 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 35.5% for the game. They went 14.3% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 3 out of 21 and ended up going 22 out of 28 from the free throw line (78.6%). In relation to how they rebounded, Portland State allowed Sacramento State to grab 23 in total (7 on the offensive side).

Jaylin Henderson pitched in for the Vikings for this contest. He totaled 26 points in his 40 minutes on the court and had 5 assists in this matchup. He converted 10 out of 19 in this game for a field goal rate of 52.6%, and earned 3 rebounds.

Portland State has a win-loss record of 9-5 this season. As an offense, the Vikings are hitting on 48.4% from the floor, which is 50th in the country. Portland State has tallied 1,166 pts for the campaign (83.3 per game) and they collect 39.6 rebounds per contest. They are earning an assist 17.4 times per game (45th in Division 1) and they lose possession via turnover 12.7 times per game. The Vikings commit 21.4 personal fouls per game and they shoot 69.7% from the free throw line.

The Vikings on defense are ranked 169th in college in PPG allowed with 72.9. They are forcing their opponents into 13.1 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 40.8% from the floor (55th in college). The Portland State defense concedes 30.1% from downtown (92 of 306) and their opponents are knocking down 74.2% of their shots from the free throw line. They give up 12.5 dimes and 33.4 boards per game, which is ranked 109th and 119th in college hoops.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Northern Colorado

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