SE Louisiana Lions vs UT Rio Grande Vaqueros Prediction, 1/19/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: SE Louisiana Lions vs UTRGV Vaqueros

Date: Monday, January 19, 2026

Location: UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg, TX

TV: ESPN+

The UTRGV Vaqueros (6-11) will try to beat the SE Louisiana Lions (5-12) at UTRGV Fieldhouse on Monday.

The SE Louisiana Lions stepped onto the hardwood against New Orleans and took a loss by a score of 79-76 in their last game. In relation to personal fouls, the Lions ended up with 29 and New Orleans recorded 29 personal fouls. They converted 6 out of their 16 attempts from beyond the arc. New Orleans walked away from this one shooting 79.5% from the free throw line by burying 31 of 39 shots. In addition, New Orleans snagged 39 rebounds (9 offensive, 30 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. New Orleans distributed 5 dimes and had 2 steals in this matchup. In regard to the defense, SE Louisiana allowed their opponent to shoot 44.7% from the floor on 21 out of 47 shooting. They also recorded 10 dimes in this game in addition to forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and getting 9 steals. In regard to hauling in rebounds, they earned 31 with 15 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the Lions converted 26 of their 39 shots for a rate of 66.7%. SE Louisiana wrapped up the game having earned a 36.1% field goal percentage (22 of 61) and converted 6 out of their 22 three-point attempts.

Isaiah Gaines is one player who was a contributor in this matchup. He finished the game shooting 54.5% from the field but had no assists at the end of the game. He was on the hardwood for 35 minutes and collected 11 boards. He left the arena with 18 points on 6 of 11 shooting.

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SE Louisiana steps onto the court with a record of 5-12 for the campaign. They average 65.7 points per contest (348th in the country) while going 40.4% from the floor. The Lions are shooting 26.9% on three-point attempts (102 of 379) and 69.6% from the charity stripe. As a unit, SE Louisiana is pulling in 32.4 rebounds per game and has tallied 204 assists on the season, which ranks 331st in Division 1 in terms of passing. They turn it over 12.2 times per contest and as a squad are committing 18.5 fouls per game.

On defense, the Lions are forcing their opponents into 13.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 18.6 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 68th in college in allowing assists to their opponents with 205 conceded this season. The Lions defensively are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 44.4% (395 of 890) and they surrender 35.9 boards per contest as a unit. They relinquish 34.4% on 3-pointers and they are ranked 93rd in college in PPG from their opponents (70.0).

When they last played, the UTRGV Vaqueros took a loss by a score of 64-63 when they played Northwestern State. When talking about how they cleaned up the glass, UT Rio Grande permitted Northwestern State to pull down 27 overall (6 on the offensive side). They finished 30.0% from behind the 3-point line by going 6 of 20 and ended up going 18 out of 23 at the free throw line (78.3%). The Vaqueros permitted Northwestern State to bury 20 of 49 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 40.8% for this game. When the game finished, the Vaqueros finished 24 for 53 from the field which had them sitting at 45.3%. Concerning shooting from downtown, UT Rio Grande converted 8 of their 25 attempts (32.0%). They were able to make 7 of them for a percentage of 100.0%. Northwestern State committed 10 fouls for this contest which took the Vaqueros to the free throw line for a total of 7 tries. They coughed up the ball 13 times, while earning 8 steals for this contest. The Vaqueros earned 24 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive rebounds for a total of 28 in the matchup.

Filip Brankovic ended up being a major contributor for the Vaqueros for the game. He made 6 out of 10 in the game for a field goal percentage of 60.0%, and earned 2 rebounds. He racked up 19 points in his 24 mins on the hardwood and tallied 1 assist in this matchup.

UT Rio Grande has a win-loss mark of 6-11 for the season. The Vaqueros commit 17.9 personal fouls every game and they go 72.4% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 16.4 times per game (75th in the nation) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 12.0 times per contest. UT Rio Grande has tallied 1,265 points for the season (74.4 per contest) and they pull in 35.6 boards per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Vaqueros are shooting 45.8% from the field, which is 165th in college.

The UT Rio Grande defense allows 32.0% on 3-point attempts (131 of 410) and their opposition makes 71.5% of their foul shots. They surrender 14.4 dimes and 34.9 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 253rd and 208th in college. The Vaqueros on the defensive end are ranked 98th in the nation in PPG allowed with 70.5. They have forced 11.8 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 41.6% from the field (76th in the nation).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UT Rio Grande

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