Saint Francis Red Flash vs Central Connecticut Blue Devils Prediction, 2/28/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Saint Francis Red Flash vs Central Connecticut Blue Devils

Date: Saturday, February 28, 2026

Location: Detrick Gymnasium in New Britain, CT

TV: ESPN+

Detrick Gymnasium is the location where the Central Connecticut Blue Devils (17-11) will meet the Saint Francis Red Flash (7-23) on Saturday.

The Saint Francis Red Flash played Stonehill and went home with a loss by a final score of 103-77 in their last contest. Regarding personal fouls, the Red Flash walked away with 11 while Stonehill totaled 16 personal fouls. They also made 14 out of their 30 attempts from long range. Stonehill finished shooting 81.3% when shooting free throws by converting 13 of 16 shots. In addition, Stonehill collected 35 boards (8 offensive, 27 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Stonehill doled out 21 dimes and had 4 steals for this game. In regard to defense, Saint Francis allowed 57.6% from the field on 38 out of 66 shooting. They also doled out 10 assists in this contest as well as forcing 6 turnovers and getting 2 steals. When discussing rebounding, they collected 28 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Red Flash converted 11 of their 22 attempts for a rate of 50.0%. Saint Francis walked away from the game having earned a 45.5% field goal percentage (30 of 66) and knocked down 6 out of their 16 3-point attempts.

Skylar Wicks is one player who was a major contributor in this game. He ended up walking away with 22 points on 9 of 15 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 27 mins and also pulled down 4 rebounds. He ended up going 60.0% from the floor and also distributed 4 dimes.

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Saint Francis will take the court with a record of 7-23 for the season. They are averaging 71.7 pts per contest (280th in the country) while shooting 43.0% from the floor. The Red Flash are hitting 34.4% from downtown (236 of 686) and 69.4% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Saint Francis is pulling down 32.7 boards per game and is sitting with 407 assists on the campaign, which has them ranked 161st in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 12.9 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 18.3 personal fouls per game.

On the defensive end, the Red Flash are able to force 12.8 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 16.7 fouls. They are giving up 36.8% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 345th in college in points per game allowed (81.4). The Red Flash defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 49.2% (859 of 1,747) and they surrender 36.5 boards per game as a team. They rank 346th in the nation in giving up assists with 480 surrendered on the year.

In their last game, the Central Connecticut Blue Devils walked away with a victory by a final of 80-78 against Mercyhurst. The Blue Devils pulled down 23 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards for a total of 29 in the game. They also coughed up the ball 8 times, while earning 3 steals for this game. Mercyhurst earned 21 personal fouls in this contest which took the Blue Devils to the charity stripe for a total of 28 tries. They were able to bury 20 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 71.4%. In relation to shooting from 3-point land, Central Connecticut buried 4 out of their 10 attempts (40.0%). When all was said and done, the Blue Devils finished shooting 28 for 51 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 54.9%. The Blue Devils allowed Mercyhurst to bury 31 out of their 62 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 50.0% for the game. They went 23.5% from beyond the arc by shooting 4 out of 17 and finished the contest at 12 out of 14 at the free throw line (85.7%). When talking about how they attacked the glass, Central Connecticut permitted Mercyhurst to pull down 27 overall (6 offensive).

Darin Smith Jr. was important for the Blue Devils for the matchup. He scored 24 points in his 34 mins on the court and totaled 1 assist in this game. He made 6 of 13 in this game for a field goal rate of 46.2%, and added 4 rebounds.

Central Connecticut has a record of 17-11 for the campaign. The Blue Devils are committing 13.5 personal fouls every game and they hit 76.9% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 14.0 times per contest (171st in college) and they turn it over 10.6 times per contest. Central Connecticut has scored 2,086 points this year (74.5 per contest) and they pull in 34.4 boards per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Blue Devils are connecting on 47.4% from the floor, which ranks 55th in the nation.

The Blue Devils defensively are ranked 104th in college in PPG given up with 71.2. They have forced 9.4 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 42.9% from the floor (108th in college hoops). The Central Connecticut defense allows 33.1% on shots from beyond the arc (226 of 682) and opponents are knocking down 76.1% of their foul shots. They have relinquished 14.4 dimes and 33.1 boards every game, ranking them 263rd and 97th in Division 1.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Central Connecticut

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