Northern Kentucky Norse vs Cleveland State Vikings Prediction, 2/25/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northern Kentucky Norse vs Cleveland State Vikings

Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Location: Wolstein Center in Cleveland, OH

TV: ESPN+

The Cleveland State Vikings (10-19) will try to beat the Northern Kentucky Norse (17-12) at Wolstein Center on Wednesday.

The Northern Kentucky Norse stepped onto the hardwood against Youngstown State and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 64-58 in their last game. In relation to fouls, the Norse ended up walking away with 21 while Youngstown State recorded 19 fouls. They also knocked down 5 out of their 20 tries from 3-point range. Youngstown State walked away from this one shooting 65.4% when shooting free throws by converting 17 of 26 attempts. In addition, Youngstown State totaled 38 rebounds (8 offensive, 30 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Youngstown State dished out 13 dimes and had 9 steals for the contest. In the matter of defense, Northern Kentucky allowed their opponent to shoot 42.0% from the floor on 21 out of 50 shooting. They also distributed 11 assists in the matchup while forcing 17 turnovers and having 8 steals. In relation to pulling down boards, they collected 36 with 13 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Norse made 10 of their 18 tries for a percentage of 55.6%. Northern Kentucky ended the contest with a 29.4% FG percentage (20 out of 68) and buried 8 of 31 three-point shots.

Donovan Oday is one guy who had an impact in this contest. He finished 26.1% from the floor and totaled 1 assist. He played 36 minutes and pulled down 2 rebounds. He ended up walking away with 18 points on 6 of 23 shooting.

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Northern Kentucky enters this one with a record of 17-12 on the season. They are turning it over 12.2 times per contest and as a team they are committing 18.3 fouls per contest. As a unit, Northern Kentucky is grabbing 35.4 rebounds per game and has accounted for 447 assists for the season, which is 65th in the country in terms of passing. The Norse are shooting 33.4% on three-point attempts (269 of 805) and 71.1% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 82.2 pts per contest (55th in the nation) while going 46.3% from the floor.

On defense, the Norse are forcing 14.4 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.8 fouls. They are giving up 35.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 247th in college hoops in opponents PPG (76.2). The Norse are giving up a shooting percentage of 45.4% (776 of 1,711) and they surrender 35.1 rebounds per contest as a unit. They are 267th in college in giving up assists to the opposition with 403 surrendered so far this season.

In their last game, the Cleveland State Vikings took a defeat with a final score of 92-86 against IPFW. The Vikings were able to collect 25 defensive boards and 5 offensive rebounds for a total of 30 in this contest. They turned the ball over 13 times, while recording 8 steals for the matchup. IPFW committed 18 personal fouls for this contest which took the Vikings to the charity stripe for 20 shots. They were able to make 14 of the free throw tries for a clip of 70.0%. With regard to shooting from downtown, Cleveland State knocked down 16 out of their 39 attempts (41.0%). When the final whistle blew, the Vikings walked away from this one shooting 28 out of 59 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 47.5%. The Vikings allowed IPFW to make 32 of 59 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 54.2% in this game. They finished shooting 45.5% from three-point range by shooting 15 out of 33 and walked away from this one shooting 13 out of 23 at the free throw line (56.5%). When talking about rebounding, Cleveland State allowed IPFW to pull down 28 in total (7 offensive).

Chevalier Emery ended up having an impact for the Vikings in the game. He totaled 21 points in his 33 minutes on the hardwood and accumulated 3 assists for the matchup. He knocked down 6 out of 15 for the contest giving him a rate of 40.0%, and had 3 rebounds.

Cleveland State has a record of 10-19 for the season. The Vikings are committing 19.0 fouls per contest and they connect on 75.3% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 15.9 times per contest (70th in college hoops) and they lose possession via turnover 13.0 times per contest. Cleveland State has earned 2,337 pts for the year (80.6 per game) and they collect 32.9 boards per game. When it comes to offense, the Vikings are connecting on 45.5% from the field, which ranks them 167th in the country.

The Cleveland State defense surrenders 35.4% on shots from 3-point land (289 of 816) and opponents are knocking down 75.7% of their shots from the free throw line. They have conceded 17.2 assists and 36.0 rebounds per game, which has them ranked 355th and 284th in those categories. The Vikings on the defensive side of the court are 362nd in college in PPG allowed with 85.8. They are forcing their opponents into 11.1 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 47.3% from the floor (332nd in college hoops).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Northern Kentucky

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