SIU Edwardsville Cougars vs Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles Prediction, 1/31/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: SIU Edwardsville Cougars vs Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles

Date: Saturday, January 31, 2026

Location: Liberty Arena in Evansville, IN

TV: ESPN+

The Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles (5-15) will play the SIU Edwardsville Cougars (13-8) at Liberty Arena on Saturday.

The SIU Edwardsville Cougars stepped onto the hardwood against Tennessee Tech and walked away with a win by a score of 62-58 in their last contest. When it comes to fouls, the Cougars ended up finishing with 13 while Tennessee Tech had 14 fouls. They knocked down 3 out of their 17 shots from 3-point land. Tennessee Tech ended up shooting 73.3% when shooting free throws by making 11 of their 15 tries. Moreover, Tennessee Tech snagged 30 boards (9 offensive, 21 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Tennessee Tech recorded 8 dimes and had 5 steals for this contest. Concerning defending, SIU Edwardsville let their opponent shoot 37.9% from the field on 22 out of 58 shooting. They also distributed 9 assists in the matchup as well as forcing 5 turnovers and earning 3 steals. When talking about getting rebounds, they compiled a total of 34 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Cougars converted 12 of their 15 attempts for a percentage of 80.0%. SIU Edwardsville wrapped up the contest with a 41.8% field goal percentage (23 out of 55) and made 4 of their 17 three-point shots.

Arnas Sakenis is a player who was a factor in the game. He finished the game at 66.7% from the floor but finished the game without a dime. He was on the court for 33 mins played and pulled down 12 boards. He scored 16 points on 6 out of 9 shooting.

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SIU Edwardsville comes into this matchup with a record of 13-8 on the campaign. They are averaging 72.8 points per game (270th in college hoops) while connecting on 44.5% from the floor. The Cougars are shooting 33.9% from downtown (148 of 437) and 67.7% from the free throw line. As a team, SIU Edwardsville is pulling down 37.1 boards per contest and has accumulated 282 dimes on the season, which has them ranked 227th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. They turn it over 11.4 times per game and as a team they commit 16.3 personal fouls every game.

Defensively, the Cougars have forced 12.9 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.0 fouls. They relinquish 29.1% on shots from downtown and they rank 19th in D-1 in PPG allowed (65.3). The Cougars defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 39.3% (468 of 1,190) and they surrender 34.8 rebounds per game as a squad. They are currently ranked 19th in the country in giving up assists to the opposition with 219 surrendered for the year.

The last time they took the court, the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles walked away with a victory by a final of 96-64 against Western Illinois. In reference to cleaning the glass, Southern Indiana permitted Western Illinois to get 22 in all (4 on the offensive glass). They went 23.1% from beyond the perimeter by going 3 out of 13 and ended up shooting 17 out of 24 from the free throw line (70.8%). The Screaming Eagles allowed Western Illinois to convert 22 of 60 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 36.7% in the game. At the conclusion of this game, the Screaming Eagles ended up going 35 for 67 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 52.2%. Pertaining to 3-pointers, Southern Indiana buried 13 of their 28 attempts (46.4%). They were able to make 13 of the free throws for a rate of 81.3%. Western Illinois committed 11 fouls in the game which took the Screaming Eagles to the free throw line for 16 shots. They gave up possession of the ball 9 times, while recording 6 steals for the contest. The Screaming Eagles recorded 34 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards for a total of 44 for the game.

Cardell Bailey ended up being a major contributor for the Screaming Eagles in the game. He made 7 out of 13 for the game giving him a rate of 53.8%, and had 7 rebounds. He scored 22 points in his 25 minutes on the hardwood and had 2 dimes in the game.

Southern Indiana has a mark of 5-15 on the year. The Screaming Eagles have committed 17.2 fouls every game and they connect on 64.7% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 10.9 times per contest (350th in college) and they turn it over 12.3 times per contest. Southern Indiana has scored 1,411 points for the year (70.6 per contest) and they average 38.8 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Screaming Eagles are shooting 39.3% from the field, which has them ranked 360th in college.

The Screaming Eagles are ranked 181st in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 73.4. They are forcing 11.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 43.2% from the field (152nd in the country). The Southern Indiana defense gives up 32.6% from downtown (111 of 340) and their opponents are connecting on 70.9% of their free throw attempts. They have surrendered 10.8 assists and 40.9 rebounds every game, which ranks them 24th and 360th in D-1.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take SIU Edwardsville

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