Rider Broncs vs Fairfield Stags Prediction, 1/9/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Rider Broncs vs Fairfield Stags

Date: Friday, January 9, 2026

Location: Leo D. Mahoney Arena in Fairfield, CT

TV: ESPN+

The Rider Broncs (1-12) are headed to Leo D. Mahoney Arena on Friday where they will go up against the Fairfield Stags (9-7).

The Rider Broncs played Siena and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 74-65 in their last game. In the matter of personal fouls, the Broncs finished with 15 while Siena recorded 13 personal fouls. They converted 6 out of their 15 shots from downtown. Siena finished the game shooting 72.7% from the charity stripe by making 16 of their 22 attempts. In addition, Siena pulled down 39 rebounds (17 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't have a block. Siena earned 14 dimes and had 3 steals for this contest. In the matter of defense, Rider allowed the other team to shoot 46.4% from the field on 26 of 56 shooting. They also distributed 14 assists for this game as well as forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and earning 4 steals. Pertaining to rebounding, they earned a total of 21 with 8 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Broncs knocked down 11 of 13 attempts for a percentage of 84.6%. Rider finished the contest having earned a 43.1% field goal percentage (25 out of 58) and converted 4 out of their 22 shots from beyond the arc.

Zion Cruz is one guy who was a major contributor for the matchup. He finished the contest at 50.0% from the floor and earned 3 assists. He was on the court for 39 minutes played and also grabbed 1 board. He left the arena with 20 points on 9 out of 18 shooting.

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Rider comes into this one with a mark of 1-12 so far this year. They turn it over 13.4 times per game and as a team they are committing 17.2 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Rider is collecting 37.1 boards per game and has 126 assists for the campaign, which has them ranked 364th in college in terms of passing the ball. The Broncs are hitting 24.9% on 3-point shots (56 of 225) and 71.2% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 61.6 pts per game (362nd in college hoops) while hitting 38.3% from the field.

Defensively, the Broncs are forcing their opponents into 9.5 turnovers per game while drawing 15.7 fouls. They are giving up 34.2% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 244th in Division 1 in opponents points per game (75.7). Broncs defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 44.6% (350 of 784) and they concede 37.9 boards per contest as a team. They are ranked 82nd in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 183 conceded for the year.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Fairfield Stags went home victorious with a score of 83-75 when they played Niagara. The Stags collected 18 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards totaling 24 in the matchup. They gave up possession 5 times, while getting 5 steals in this matchup. Niagara was called for 13 fouls in this contest which got the Stags to the free throw line for 21 shots. They were able to knock down 19 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 90.5%. Pertaining to shooting from 3-point land, Fairfield made 6 of their 16 tries (37.5%). When the final whistle was blown, the Stags went 29 for 57 from the field which had them shooting 50.9%. The Stags permitted Niagara to bury 31 of 57 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 54.4% in this contest. They finished the game shooting 39.1% from beyond the arc by going 9 out of 23 and ended up going 4 out of 4 at the charity stripe (100.0%). When discussing rebounding, Fairfield permitted Niagara to grab 23 overall (7 offensive).

Brandon Benjamin pitched in for the Stags in this contest. He had 23 points in his 35 mins of playing time and had 2 assists for the contest. He converted 10 of 15 for this game for a field goal rate of 66.7%, and added 9 rebounds.

Fairfield has a record of 9-7 on the season. On the offensive side of the court, the Stags are hitting on 43.0% from the floor, which ranks 290th in the country. Fairfield has accounted for 1,242 pts this season (77.6 per game) and they collect 40.0 boards per contest. They are assisting teammates 11.6 times per contest (335th in D-1) and they lose possession via turnover 9.8 times per contest. The Stags commit 15.3 fouls every game and they hit 73.9% from the charity stripe.

The Stags on the defensive side of the court are 208th in college in points per game surrendered with 74.3. They are able to force 10.9 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 44.6% from the floor (255th in D-1). The Fairfield defense allows 35.0% on 3-point attempts (121 of 346) and opponents are knocking down 75.7% of their shots from the free throw line. They have surrendered 14.3 assists and 35.1 rebounds every game, which is 247th and 208th in D-1.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Fairfield

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