Tennessee State Tigers vs SIU Edwardsville Cougars Prediction, 1/22/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tennessee State Tigers vs SIU Edwardsville Cougars

Date: Thursday, January 22, 2026

Location: First Community Arena in Edwardsville, IL

TV: ESPN+

The Tennessee State Tigers (12-6) are headed to First Community Arena on Thursday where they will take on the SIU Edwardsville Cougars (11-8).

The Tennessee State Tigers played Southern Indiana and notched a win by a score of 73-67 in their last contest. With respect to fouls, the Tigers ended up finishing with 12 and Southern Indiana totaled 11 fouls. They also knocked down 11 out of their 31 shots from three-point range. Southern Indiana ended up shooting 66.7% at the charity stripe by knocking down 6 of 9 attempts. In addition, Southern Indiana pulled down 40 rebounds (11 offensive, 29 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Southern Indiana distributed 7 dimes and had 2 steals in this matchup. In terms of defense, Tennessee State allowed their opponent to shoot 38.5% from the field on 25 of 65 shooting. They also distributed 12 assists for this game in addition to creating 12 turnovers and having 10 steals. Pertaining to rebounding, they compiled 36 with 8 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the Tigers knocked down 10 of 14 shots for a percentage of 71.4%. Tennessee State finished the contest with a 46.0% FG percentage (29 of 63) and knocked down 5 of 17 shots from distance.

Aaron Nkrumah is someone who was a major contributor for this game. He ended up with 24 points on 8 out of 14 shooting. He was on the court for 36 minutes and grabbed 11 rebounds. He finished shooting 57.1% from the floor and also distributed 3 dimes.

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Tennessee State enters this one with a mark of 12-6 this season. They are giving up possession 13.1 times per game and as a group are committing 18.9 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Tennessee State is collecting 38.7 rebounds per game and has 254 dimes on the season, which ranks 228th in college in terms of passing the rock. The Tigers are connecting on 31.9% on shots beyond the perimeter (114 of 357) and 73.8% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 81.4 pts per game (92nd in Division 1) while hitting 45.9% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Tigers are forcing their opponents into 15.0 turnovers per game while drawing 17.0 fouls. They are surrendering 31.5% from 3-point land and they are ranked 262nd in the country in PPG allowed (76.5). The Tigers defensively are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 44.7% (473 of 1,059) and they surrender 35.7 boards per game as a squad. They currently rank 181st in college hoops in giving up assists with 245 conceded this season.

The last time they took the court, the SIU Edwardsville Cougars walked away with a victory by a final of 68-55 when they faced SE Missouri State. The Cougars were able to pull down 24 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 31 in the matchup. They gave up possession of the ball 7 times, while getting 8 steals in this game. SE Missouri State earned 14 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Cougars to the free throw line for a total of 17 attempts. They were able to convert 12 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 70.6%. In reference to shots from beyond the arc, SIU Edwardsville buried 8 out of their 17 attempts (47.1%). Overall, the Cougars finished 24 for 51 from the floor which gave them a rate of 47.1%. The Cougars allowed SE Missouri State to bury 18 out of their 46 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 39.1% in this matchup. They wrapped up this game 28.6% from distance by shooting 4 out of 14 and ended up shooting 15 out of 23 from the charity stripe (65.2%). Regarding rebounding, SIU Edwardsville permitted SE Missouri State to snag 25 in total (6 offensive).

Arnas Sakenis pitched in for the Cougars in this game. He racked up 19 points in his 32 mins on the court and had 1 assist for the game. He knocked down 7 out of 9 for the contest for a field goal rate of 77.8%, and had 8 rebounds.

SIU Edwardsville has a record of 11-8 on the year. As an offensive unit, the Cougars are connecting on 44.3% from the floor, which is 247th in Division 1. SIU Edwardsville has accumulated 1,393 pts on the year (73.3 per game) and they pull down 37.3 boards per contest. Their rate of earning assists is at 13.4 times per contest (243rd in Division 1) and they turn it over 11.5 times per game. The Cougars are committing 16.4 fouls per game and they shoot 67.2% from the free throw line.

The Cougars defensively are ranked 23rd in the country in points allowed per game with 65.6. They are forcing 13.6 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 39.8% from the floor (31st in D-1). The SIU Edwardsville defense surrenders 30.1% on three-point shots (133 of 442) and opponents are connecting on 71.5% of their free throw shots. They have allowed 10.7 dimes and 34.5 rebounds per game, which has them ranked 16th and 188th in those defensive categories.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Tennessee State

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