Southern Illinois Salukis vs Drake Bulldogs Prediction, 2/18/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Southern Illinois Salukis vs Drake Bulldogs

Date: Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Location: Knapp Center in Des Moines, IA

TV: ESPN+

The Southern Illinois Salukis (12-15) are traveling to Knapp Center on Wednesday where they will play the Drake Bulldogs (12-16).

The Southern Illinois Salukis faced off with Bradley and took a loss by a score of 70-60 in their last contest. When it comes to personal fouls, the Salukis ended up with 13 while Bradley accounted for 18 personal fouls. They also made 9 out of their 27 attempts from 3-point range. Bradley went 55.6% from the charity stripe by knocking down 5 of 9 shots. In addition, Bradley collected 32 boards (6 offensive, 26 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Bradley doled out 11 dimes and had 6 steals for this game. In terms of defending, Southern Illinois allowed the other team to shoot 43.1% from the field on 28 out of 65 shooting. They also distributed 8 assists in this game while creating 5 turnovers and earning 5 steals. With respect to grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 35 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Salukis converted 16 of their 19 tries for a rate of 84.2%. Southern Illinois walked away from the game with a 36.7% field goal percentage (22 of 60) and made 0 of their 15 three-point attempts.

Quel'Ron House is a player who came through in the game. He finished shooting 52.6% from the floor and also distributed 1 assist. He played for 33 mins played and also grabbed 3 boards. He totaled 26 points on 10 of 19 shooting.

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Southern Illinois comes into this matchup with a mark of 12-15 on the year. They lose possession via turnover 12.3 times per contest and as a team are committing 17.9 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Southern Illinois is pulling down 37.9 boards per game and has totaled 364 assists for the campaign, which ranks 184th in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Salukis are shooting 27.6% on shots from distance (129 of 468) and 67.7% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 74.1 points per contest (241st in D-1) on 45.9% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Salukis are forcing 13.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.7 fouls. They rank 196th in the nation in giving up assists to their opponents with 351 relinquished on the year. The Salukis defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 42.4% (678 of 1,598) and they concede 35.4 rebounds per game as a unit. They give up 30.6% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 104th in college hoops in points per game allowed (71.1).

In their last game, the Drake Bulldogs took a loss by a score of 86-62 against UNI. In regard to how they cleaned up the glass, Drake allowed UNI to grab 27 overall (3 on the offensive glass). They finished 41.4% from beyond the perimeter by hitting 12 of 29 and walked away from this one shooting 12 out of 13 at the free throw line (92.3%). The Bulldogs permitted UNI to bury 31 of 57 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 54.4% in this matchup. Overall, the Bulldogs ended up shooting 22 out of 54 from the field which had them at 40.7%. When discussing shots from beyond the perimeter, Drake made 7 of their 24 tries (29.2%). They were able to convert 11 of them for a rate of 64.7%. UNI was called for 15 personal fouls for the contest which took the Bulldogs to the charity stripe for 17 shots. They turned the ball over 9 times, while recording 4 steals in this contest. The Bulldogs recorded 22 defensive boards and 4 offensive rebounds totaling 26 for this game.

Jalen Quinn ended up being a factor for the Bulldogs in this matchup. He had 20 points in his 30 minutes on the hardwood and had 1 assist in the game. He made 7 of 16 in this game for a field goal rate of 43.8%, and tallied 5 rebounds.

Drake has a win-loss mark of 12-16 on the season. The Bulldogs are committing 17.2 personal fouls every game while shooting 72.0% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 13.6 times per contest (214th in the country) and they turn it over 10.0 times per game. Drake has accumulated 2,149 points so far this year (76.8 per game) and they pull in 35.5 rebounds per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Bulldogs are hitting on 44.7% from the floor, which ranks them 209th in the nation.

The Bulldogs are ranked 232nd in college in points allowed per contest with 75.5. They are forcing their opponents into 10.5 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 44.3% from the floor (201st in college). The Drake defense allows 36.5% from downtown (270 of 739) and opponents are making 68.2% of their shots from the free throw line. They have allowed 14.5 assists and 36.3 rebounds every game, which ranks 271st and 289th in college.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Southern Illinois

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