SIU Edwardsville Cougars vs Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles Prediction, 2/19/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: SIU Edwardsville Cougars vs Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles

Date: Thursday, February 19, 2026

Location: Hooper Eblen Center in Cookeville, TN

TV: ESPN+

Hooper Eblen Center is the location where the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (11-16) will go up against the SIU Edwardsville Cougars (17-10) on Thursday.

The SIU Edwardsville Cougars stepped onto the hardwood against UT Martin and went home with a loss by a final score of 81-76 in their last contest. SIU Edwardsville wrapped up the game with a 42.6% FG percentage (23 of 54) and buried 13 of their 28 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the charity stripe, the Cougars converted 17 of their 24 shots for a rate of 70.8%. When discussing pulling down boards, they collected 31 with 13 of them being offensive. They also recorded 12 assists in this contest while forcing 13 turnovers and having 10 steals. When discussing the defense, SIU Edwardsville allowed the other team to shoot 53.1% from the field on 26 out of 49 shooting. UT Martin dished out 14 assists and had 12 steals for the game. Additionally, UT Martin snagged 26 boards (6 offensive, 20 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. UT Martin finished the game shooting 78.3% at the charity stripe by making 18 of their 23 shots. They knocked down 11 of 24 tries from downtown. Regarding fouls, the Cougars ended up walking away with 20 and UT Martin recorded 18 fouls.

Tyler King is one guy who was a contributor for the contest. He finished shooting 56.3% from the field and also distributed 2 dimes. He played 35 mins and collected 6 rebounds. He racked up 27 points on 9 of 16 shooting.

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SIU Edwardsville will take the court with a mark of 17-10 for the campaign. They are averaging 72.3 pts per game (272nd in college) while hitting 44.7% from the field. The Cougars are hitting 35.3% on shots from distance (196 of 555) and 68.5% from the free throw line. As a unit, SIU Edwardsville is grabbing 37.1 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 359 assists on the season, which is 213th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They are losing possession via turnover 11.7 times per game and as a team they commit 16.3 fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Cougars have forced 12.4 turnovers per game while drawing 16.0 personal fouls. They are giving up 30.3% on 3-pointers and they are 14th in college in opponents PPG (65.0). The Cougars defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 39.0% (602 of 1,542) and they surrender 34.9 rebounds per game as a team. They are 19th in Division 1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 280 relinquished on the season.

For their last game, the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles took home the win by a final score of 82-74 when they faced Southern Indiana. In relation to rebounding, Tennessee Tech permitted Southern Indiana to collect 26 in all (10 on the offensive glass). They finished 44.4% from downtown by going 8 of 18 and ended up going 20 out of 27 from the free throw line (74.1%). The Golden Eagles allowed Southern Indiana to convert 23 of their 56 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.1% for the matchup. When this game wrapped up, the Golden Eagles finished 31 for 57 from the field which gave them a rate of 54.4%. With respect to shooting from downtown, Tennessee Tech converted 5 of their 15 attempts (33.3%). They were able to knock down 15 of the free throws for a rate of 78.9%. Southern Indiana earned 20 fouls for this game which took the Golden Eagles to the free throw line for a total of 19 tries. They coughed it up 9 times, while getting 2 steals for this contest. The Golden Eagles collected 24 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards totaling 32 in this matchup.

C.J. McPherson ended up being a factor for the Golden Eagles for the game. He knocked down 6 out of 8 for this game giving him a field goal percentage of 75.0%, and totaled 2 rebounds. He totaled 15 points in his 26 minutes on the hardwood, but wasn't able to notch an assist.

Tennessee Tech has a mark of 11-16 so far this season. In terms of offensive execution, the Golden Eagles are shooting 45.2% from the floor, which ranks 182nd in the nation. Tennessee Tech has accounted for 2,016 points this season (74.7 per game) and they pull in 36.2 rebounds per game. They are getting an assist 12.8 times per contest (273rd in college) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.6 times per game. The Golden Eagles are committing 16.8 fouls per contest and they go 74.5% from the free throw line.

The Golden Eagles defensively are ranked 234th in college hoops in points given up per game with 75.8. They are forcing 11.4 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 44.3% from the field (198th in college). The Tennessee Tech defense gives up 35.5% from downtown (213 of 600) and opponents are making 73.6% of their shots from the charity stripe. They relinquish 14.3 dimes and 34.1 rebounds per game, which is 263rd and 161st in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take SIU Edwardsville

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