Saint Francis Red Flash vs Mercyhurst Lakers Prediction, 2/5/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Saint Francis Red Flash vs Mercyhurst Lakers

Date: Thursday, February 5, 2026

Location: Mercyhurst Athletic Center in Erie, PA

TV: ESPN+

Mercyhurst Athletic Center is where the Mercyhurst Lakers (11-12) will take on the Saint Francis Red Flash (6-15) on Thursday.

The Saint Francis Red Flash faced off with New Haven and ended up losing by a score of 81-69 in their last game. Saint Francis ended having earned a 44.6% field goal percentage (25 of 56) and buried 7 out of their 21 3-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Red Flash knocked down 12 of their 18 attempts for a rate of 66.7%. Pertaining to grabbing rebounds, they earned 28 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 15 assists for the game as well as creating 9 turnovers and getting 6 steals. With respect to defense, Saint Francis allowed the other team to shoot 52.1% from the floor on 25 out of 48 shooting. New Haven dished out 15 dimes and had 3 steals for this game. Moreover, New Haven grabbed 28 boards (5 offensive, 23 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. New Haven shot 77.8% at the free throw line by making 21 of their 27 shots. They converted 10 of 20 tries from distance. Concerning personal fouls, the Red Flash ended up finishing with 21 and New Haven accumulated 16 personal fouls.

Ahmad Harrison is one player who was a major factor in this game. He accounted for 16 points on 5 of 16 shooting. He saw the court for 35 minutes played and also pulled down 6 boards. He walked away from this one shooting 31.3% from the field and also dished out 2 assists.

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Saint Francis comes into this one with a record of 6-15 this year. They average 70.0 points per contest (317th in the nation) on 42.1% from the floor. The Red Flash are hitting 33.9% from downtown (168 of 496) and 70.5% from the free throw line. As a team, Saint Francis is pulling in 33.1 rebounds per contest and has 295 assists for the year, which ranks 248th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. They turn the ball over 12.7 times per contest and as a team are committing 18.0 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on the defensive end, the Red Flash are able to force 13.0 turnovers every game while drawing 16.0 personal fouls. They rank 321st in Division 1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 349 surrendered so far this season. The Red Flash defensively are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 48.0% (596 of 1,241) and they concede 37.1 rebounds per contest as a team. They concede 37.7% on three-point shots and they are ranked 331st in college in points per game from their opponents (80.5).

When they last played, the Mercyhurst Lakers walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 78-74 when they played Chicago State. Concerning how they rebounded, Mercyhurst allowed Chicago State to pull down 34 in total (12 offensive). They finished 42.9% from behind the 3-point line by going 9 of 21 and ended up shooting 19 of 30 from the free throw line (63.3%). The Lakers permitted Chicago State to make 25 out of their 56 tries from the floor which had them sitting at 44.6% for this game. Overall, the Lakers shot 29 out of 60 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 48.3%. In relation to shooting from 3-point land, Mercyhurst made 6 of their 22 tries (27.3%). They were able to knock down 10 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 71.4%. Chicago State was called for 18 fouls for the game which got the Lakers to the charity stripe for a total of 14 attempts. They also coughed up the ball 10 times, while earning 7 steals for the matchup. The Lakers recorded 21 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive boards for a total of 29 for the game.

Jake Lemelman ended up being a factor for the Lakers in this contest. He totaled 21 points in his 34 minutes of playing time and added 7 assists for this game. He converted 9 of 15 in this contest for a rate of 60.0%, and had 2 rebounds.

Mercyhurst has a mark of 11-12 for the campaign. The Lakers are committing 17.7 fouls per contest and they go 68.7% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 15.0 times per contest (124th in the nation) and they are giving up possession 10.0 times per contest. Mercyhurst has accounted for 1,537 pts on the year (66.8 per contest) and they average 31.9 rebounds per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Lakers are connecting on 45.2% from the floor, which ranks them 180th in college.

The Lakers on the defensive side of the court are 20th in college hoops in PPG given up with 65.3. They are able to force 12.9 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.8% from the field (125th in college). The Mercyhurst defense gives up 32.9% on shots from behind the 3-point line (139 of 422) and their opponents are connecting on 70.1% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 11.9 dimes and 34.5 rebounds every game, which ranks them 70th and 188th in the nation.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Mercyhurst

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