SMU Mustangs vs Clemson Tigers Prediction, 1/7/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: SMU Mustangs vs Clemson Tigers

Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Location: Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, SC

TV: ESPN+

The SMU Mustangs (12-2) are headed to Littlejohn Coliseum on Wednesday where they will attempt to defeat the Clemson Tigers (12-3).

The SMU Mustangs faced North Carolina and went home with a win by a final score of 97-83 in their last contest. In reference to personal fouls, the Mustangs ended up finishing with 17 and North Carolina racked up 12 personal fouls. They made 12 of 28 attempts from distance. North Carolina finished the game at 68.4% from the charity stripe by converting 13 of 19 shots. Furthermore, North Carolina snagged 26 rebounds (7 offensive, 19 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. North Carolina totaled 21 assists and had 4 steals for the matchup. In terms of defending, SMU allowed their opponent to shoot 48.3% from the floor on 29 of 60 shooting. They also distributed 23 dimes for this game in addition to creating 9 turnovers and getting 4 steals. Pertaining to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 25 with 3 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Mustangs converted 11 of their 16 shots for a percentage of 68.8%. SMU ended the contest with a 60.0% FG percentage (36 of 60) and made 14 of their 27 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Kevin Miller is someone who was a major factor for the matchup. He finished the game at 76.9% from the field and recorded 12 dimes. He saw the court for 33 mins and collected 4 rebounds. He accounted for 27 points on 10 of 13 shooting.

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SMU will play this game with a win-loss mark of 12-2 for the year. They are losing possession via turnover 11.3 times per game and as a team are committing 17.1 personal fouls every game. As a team, SMU is collecting 39.4 boards per game and has accounted for 270 assists on the year, which has them ranked 30th in the nation in terms of passing. The Mustangs are hitting 35.9% on shots from 3-point land (113 of 315) and 76.3% from the charity stripe. They average 91.5 pts per game (14th in the nation) while shooting 50.5% from the field.

Defensively, the Mustangs have forced 14.4 turnovers per game and they draw 19.7 personal fouls. They give up 31.1% from 3-point land while they are 269th in the nation in PPG allowed (76.9). The Mustangs are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 42.2% (374 of 886) and they concede 34.9 boards per contest as a team. They are ranked 278th in college hoops in allowing assists with 223 surrendered for the year.

The last time they took the court, the Clemson Tigers walked away with a victory by a final of 73-68 when they played Pittsburgh. When discussing cleaning up the glass, Clemson permitted Pittsburgh to pull down 26 overall (6 on the offensive glass). They finished 35.3% from behind the 3-point line by hitting 6 of 17 and ended up shooting 16 of 22 from the free throw line (72.7%). The Tigers allowed Pittsburgh to convert 23 out of their 52 tries from the field which had them shooting 44.2% for the contest. When the final whistle was blown, the Tigers ended up going 24 out of 45 from the floor which gave them a rate of 53.3%. Regarding 3-point attempts, Clemson made 7 out of 21 tries (33.3%). They were able to knock down 18 of those for a percentage of 72.0%. Pittsburgh was called for 21 fouls for the game which got the Tigers to the free throw line for 25 attempts. They also coughed up the ball 14 times, while recording 5 steals for the matchup. The Tigers snagged 23 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive rebounds totaling 27 for this contest.

Jestin Porter ended up being a factor for the Tigers for this game. He totaled 21 points in his 28 minutes on the court, but didn't record an assist. He converted 8 of 12 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 66.7%, and accounted for 2 rebounds.

Clemson has a record of 12-3 for the campaign. The Tigers are responsible for committing 16.8 personal fouls per contest and they hit 72.9% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 14.1 times per game (204th in the nation) and they are turning it over 9.7 times per contest. Clemson has scored 1,173 points on the season (78.2 per contest) and they collect 38.0 rebounds per contest. On the offensive side of the court, the Tigers are shooting 46.3% from the field, which ranks them 139th in the country.

The Clemson defense concedes 28.0% on 3-point shots (99 of 354) and opponents are knocking down 72.8% of their foul shots. They have conceded 9.9 dimes and 32.1 boards every game, which is 11th and 70th in those defensive categories. The Tigers on the defensive end are ranked 30th in the nation in PPG given up with 65.7. They are forcing their opponents into 11.3 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 40.0% from the field (47th in college).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take SMU

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