Southern Utah Thunderbirds vs Utah Valley Wolverines Prediction, 1/8/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Southern Utah Thunderbirds vs Utah Valley Wolverines

Date: Thursday, January 8, 2026

Location: UCCU Center in Orem, UT

TV: ESPN+

UCCU Center is the site where the Utah Valley Wolverines (12-4) will meet the Southern Utah Thunderbirds (4-11) on Thursday.

The Southern Utah Thunderbirds stepped onto the hardwood against UT Arlington and took a loss by a final of 86-77 in their last contest. In relation to personal fouls, the Thunderbirds ended up finishing with 18 while UT Arlington racked up 20 personal fouls. They also made 11 out of their 19 attempts from 3-point range. UT Arlington walked away from this one shooting 76.0% from the free throw line by burying 19 of their 25 attempts. Moreover, UT Arlington had 30 rebounds (6 offensive, 24 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. UT Arlington earned 13 dimes and had 9 steals in this contest. When discussing defending, Southern Utah allowed the other team to shoot 51.9% from the field on 28 of 54 shooting. They also distributed 15 assists for the matchup as well as forcing the opposition into 13 turnovers and getting 7 steals. Regarding hauling in rebounds, they compiled a total of 27 with 5 of them being of the offensive variety. At the free throw line, the Thunderbirds buried 16 of 21 tries for a percentage of 76.2%. Southern Utah walked away from the contest with a 46.6% FG percentage (27 out of 58) and buried 7 out of their 21 shots from 3-point land.

Elijah Duval is someone who played a role for the matchup. He was able to score 13 points on 5 out of 10 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 28 mins played and also snagged 1 rebound. He shot 50.0% from the floor and also dished out 1 assist.

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Southern Utah enters this game with a mark of 4-11 for the year. They cough up possession 13.6 times per contest and as a team are committing 15.9 fouls per contest. As a unit, Southern Utah is grabbing 36.6 boards per contest and has racked up 215 dimes so far this season, which ranks 197th in college hoops in terms of passing. The Thunderbirds are hitting 31.1% on shots from distance (109 of 351) and 72.0% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 76.9 points per contest (199th in D-1) while going 45.4% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Thunderbirds are forcing 11.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 16.2 personal fouls. They are conceding 38.9% from beyond the arc while they are 333rd in college in PPG allowed (81.3). The Thunderbirds defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 47.2% (452 of 957) and they surrender 36.3 rebounds per contest as a team. They currently rank 189th in Division 1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 202 relinquished for the season.

In their last game, the Utah Valley Wolverines took a loss by a score of 85-68 when they faced Abilene Christian. The Wolverines recorded 20 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards totaling 27 in this game. They also gave up possession of the ball 21 times, while getting 6 steals in the matchup. Abilene Christian had 17 personal fouls for this contest which took the Wolverines to the charity stripe for a total of 16 attempts. They were able to make 12 of the free throws for a clip of 75.0%. Pertaining to 3-pointers, Utah Valley knocked down 8 out of their 19 attempts (42.1%). In all, the Wolverines went 24 out of 47 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 51.1%. The Wolverines permitted Abilene Christian to knock down 34 of 63 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 54.0% for the game. They shot 38.5% from beyond the perimeter by going 5 of 13 and ended up shooting 12 of 13 at the free throw line (92.3%). When it comes to attacking the glass, Utah Valley allowed Abilene Christian to grab 25 overall (7 on the offensive side).

Tyler Hendricks pitched in for the Wolverines in the game. He made 6 of 10 for this game for a field goal rate of 60.0%, and earned 5 rebounds. He scored 15 points in his 29 mins on the hardwood and accounted for 3 assists in this matchup.

Utah Valley has a record of 12-4 on the season. The Wolverines are committing 17.6 fouls per contest and they shoot 70.3% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 20.0 times per contest (8th in the nation) and they cough up possession 14.9 times per game. Utah Valley has accounted for 1,321 pts on the year (82.6 per contest) and they collect 38.4 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Wolverines are shooting 52.2% from the field, which has them ranked 10th in D-1.

The Utah Valley defense gives up 29.0% on 3-pointers (96 of 331) and their opponents are connecting on 74.4% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have surrendered 11.7 assists and 30.4 boards per game, which is ranked 56th and 23rd in college. The Wolverines on the defensive side of the court are 40th in the nation in PPG given up with 66.8. They are forcing their opponents into 14.8 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 39.7% from the field (38th in Division 1).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Utah Valley

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