Sam Houston Bearkats vs New Mexico Lobos Prediction, 3/18/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Sam Houston Bearkats vs New Mexico Lobos

Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Location: The Pit in Albuquerque, NM

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Sam Houston (+11)

The Pit is where the New Mexico Lobos (23-10) will meet the Sam Houston Bearkats (22-11) on Wednesday in the 1st round of the NIT. Sam Houston opens this contest as 11-point underdogs. The over/under has been set at 165.

The Sam Houston Bearkats faced Kennesaw State and took a loss by a score of 79-73 in their last contest. In relation to personal fouls, the Bearkats walked away with 20 while Kennesaw State had 16 personal fouls. They also buried 9 out of their 22 shots from 3-point land. Kennesaw State finished shooting 74.1% from the charity stripe by converting 20 of their 27 tries. On top of that, Kennesaw State snagged 30 rebounds (10 offensive, 20 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Kennesaw State recorded 11 assists and had 8 steals for the game. In terms of defending, Sam Houston allowed their opponent to shoot 48.1% from the floor on 25 out of 52 shooting. They also distributed 14 assists for the matchup as well as forcing 16 turnovers and having 13 steals. In reference to pulling down boards, they collected a total of 32 with 14 of them being on the offensive end. From the charity stripe, the Bearkats knocked down 13 of their 20 tries for a rate of 65.0%. Sam Houston ended the game with a 43.5% field goal percentage (27 of 62) and knocked down 6 of 25 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Jacobe Coleman is a player who was a factor in this contest. He ended up walking away with 18 points on 7 out of 19 shooting. He played 40 mins and also totaled 2 boards. He ended up shooting 36.8% from the floor but wasn't able to get an assist.

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Sam Houston comes into this one with a mark of 22-11 so far this year. They lose possession via turnover 11.8 times per game and as a squad they commit 17.5 fouls every game. As a team, Sam Houston is pulling down 40.7 boards per contest and has racked up 506 dimes for the campaign, which ranks 83rd in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Bearkats are connecting on 36.7% on shots beyond the perimeter (277 of 754) and 72.2% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 82.2 points per contest (49th in D-1) while going 46.4% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Bearkats are forcing 11.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.2 fouls. They give up 31.2% from beyond the arc while they are 194th in Division 1 in opponents PPG (74.2). The Bearkats defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 42.4% (846 of 1,996) and they concede 33.9 boards per contest as a squad. They rank 159th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 425 relinquished so far this year.

In their last game, the New Mexico Lobos took a loss by a score of 64-62 when they faced San Diego State. When discussing how they cleaned up the glass, New Mexico allowed San Diego State to grab 23 in total (8 on the offensive glass). They wrapped up this game 23.8% from beyond the arc by connecting on 5 out of 21 and finished the contest at 13 out of 21 at the free throw line (61.9%). The Lobos allowed San Diego State to make 23 of their 56 attempts from the field which left them with a rate of 41.1% for the contest. Overall, the Lobos went 20 out of 61 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 32.8%. When talking about 3-pointers, New Mexico made 7 of their 21 tries (33.3%). They were able to bury 15 of the free throws for a percentage of 53.6%. San Diego State was called for 16 fouls in this matchup which got the Lobos to the charity stripe for a total of 28 attempts. They coughed it up 10 times, while earning 9 steals for the contest. The Lobos pulled down 22 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive boards for a total of 33 in the game.

Deyton Albury ended up being a factor for the Lobos in this matchup. He scored 20 points in his 26 mins of playing time and had 1 assist for the matchup. He converted 7 of 10 for this contest for a rate of 70.0%, and added 3 rebounds.

New Mexico has a mark of 23-10 so far this season. In terms of offensive execution, the Lobos are connecting on 46.0% from the field, which is ranked 127th in the nation. New Mexico has accumulated 2,658 points so far this season (80.5 per contest) and they pull down 36.5 rebounds per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 14.9 times per contest (114th in the country) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 10.7 times per contest. The Lobos have committed 17.7 fouls every game and they go 72.7% from the charity stripe.

The Lobos are ranked 97th in college in PPG surrendered with 70.8. They have forced 13.6 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 42.0% from the floor (58th in the nation). The New Mexico defense allows 30.0% on shots from 3-point land (270 of 901) and opponents are converting on 73.3% of their foul shots. They have surrendered 13.1 dimes and 34.1 total rebounds per game, which ranks 155th and 158th in those defensive categories.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Sam Houston (+11)

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