Stetson Hatters vs Central Arkansas Bears Prediction, 1/3/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Stetson Hatters vs Central Arkansas Bears

Date: Saturday, January 3, 2026

Location: Farris Center in Conway, AR

TV: ESPN+

The Stetson Hatters (4-9) are traveling to Farris Center on Saturday where they will attempt to defeat the Central Arkansas Bears (5-8).

The Stetson Hatters took the court against Oklahoma and took a loss by a score of 107-54 in their last game. Stetson finished the game with a 34.5% field goal percentage (20 out of 58) and knocked down 5 of their 28 shots from beyond the arc. At the charity stripe, the Hatters knocked down 9 of their 12 tries for a rate of 75.0%. In reference to grabbing rebounds, they collected 22 with 8 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 6 assists in this contest while forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and getting 3 steals. In relation to defending, Stetson allowed the other team to shoot 67.8% from the floor on 40 of 59 shooting. Oklahoma recorded 22 dimes and had 8 steals in the game. On top of that, Oklahoma snagged 37 rebounds (8 offensive, 29 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Oklahoma finished shooting 68.2% when shooting free throws by converting 15 of their 22 attempts. They made 12 out of their 24 attempts from downtown. In the matter of fouls, the Hatters left the arena with 16 while Oklahoma had 13 fouls.

Ethan Copeland is one guy who was important in this contest. He shot 46.2% from the field and dished out 1 assist. He was on the hardwood for 30 minutes and also grabbed 2 boards. He was able to score 14 points on 6 of 13 shooting.

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Stetson will play this game with a record of 4-9 for the campaign. They average 68.8 points per game (328th in Division 1) while hitting 42.2% from the field. The Hatters are hitting 32.0% on shots from downtown (109 of 341) and 63.1% from the free throw line. As a team, Stetson is pulling down 33.4 rebounds per game and is sitting with 169 dimes so far this season, which is 308th in college hoops in terms of passing the ball. They are losing possession via turnover 13.7 times per game and as a group they are committing 14.5 personal fouls per contest.

When they are on defense, the Hatters are forcing their opponents into 11.4 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.3 personal fouls. They give up 36.7% on shots from distance and they are ranked 327th in the nation in points per game allowed (80.7). The Hatters defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 48.9% (388 of 793) and they concede 36.8 boards per contest as a team. They are currently ranked 298th in college in giving up assists with 212 relinquished for the campaign.

For their last game, the Central Arkansas Bears went home defeated by a final of 99-82 when they played SMU. The Bears recorded 12 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards for a total of 19 in the game. They turned the ball over 15 times, while getting 8 steals in this contest. SMU committed 15 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Bears to the charity stripe for a total of 17 attempts. They were able to knock down 12 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 70.6%. In the matter of shooting from beyond the arc, Central Arkansas converted 12 of their 26 tries (46.2%). Overall, the Bears finished 29 for 61 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 47.5%. The Bears allowed SMU to convert 40 out of their 68 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 58.8% in this game. They finished the game shooting 33.3% from 3-point land by going 11 of 33 and ended up going 8 out of 10 from the charity stripe (80.0%). In the matter of how they cleaned up the glass, Central Arkansas permitted SMU to get 34 overall (12 on the offensive side).

Ty Robinson ended up being a major contributor for the Bears in the game. He made 11 of 17 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 64.7%, and had 8 rebounds. He had 28 points in his 33 minutes on the court and had 2 assists for the matchup.

Central Arkansas has a mark of 5-8 on the campaign. The Bears commit 15.8 fouls per contest while shooting 63.8% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 15.3 times per contest (136th in college) and they are turning it over 12.9 times per game. Central Arkansas has tallied 992 pts so far this year (76.3 per contest) and they average 38.2 boards per game. As an offense, the Bears are shooting 43.2% from the floor, which ranks them 289th in the nation.

The Central Arkansas defense allows 30.1% on three-point shots (124 of 412) and opponents are making 73.9% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 15.7 dimes and 37.0 boards per contest, which is ranked 307th and 289th in those defensive categories. The Bears are ranked 208th in college hoops in points given up per game with 74.2. They are forcing 14.0 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 42.9% from the field (156th in D-1).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Central Arkansas

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