UT Rio Grande Vaqueros vs Houston Christian Huskies Prediction, 1/24/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UTRGV Vaqueros vs Houston Christian Huskies

Date: Saturday, January 24, 2026

Location: Sharp Gymnasium in Houston, TX

TV: ESPN+

The UTRGV Vaqueros (8-11) are headed to Sharp Gymnasium on Saturday where they will go up against the Houston Christian Huskies (7-12).

The UTRGV Vaqueros stepped onto the hardwood against SE Louisiana and walked away with a win by a score of 68-65 in their last contest. UT Rio Grande ended the contest having earned a 42.3% FG percentage (22 of 52) and made 7 out of their 27 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the free throw line, the Vaqueros converted 17 of 25 attempts for a rate of 68.0%. In reference to pulling down boards, they earned 32 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 17 dimes for the contest as well as forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and earning 4 steals. In reference to defense, UT Rio Grande allowed the other team to go 40.4% from the field on 23 out of 57 shooting. SE Louisiana recorded 18 assists and had 5 steals in this matchup. Moreover, SE Louisiana totaled 32 boards (7 offensive, 25 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. SE Louisiana ended up shooting 66.7% at the charity stripe by converting 12 of their 18 tries. They knocked down 7 out of their 23 attempts from three-point range. When discussing fouls, the Vaqueros finished with 16 and SE Louisiana finished the game with 23 fouls.

Marvin McGhee III is someone who was a major contributor for the matchup. He ended up with 19 points on 5 of 12 shooting. He was on the court for 37 minutes played and also snagged 11 rebounds. He finished the game at 41.7% from the floor and recorded 1 assist.

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UT Rio Grande heads into this matchup with a record of 8-11 this year. They have an average of 74.3 points per outing (240th in the country) while shooting 46.0% from the field. The Vaqueros are shooting 37.1% on shots from 3-point land (177 of 477) and 72.3% from the free throw line. As a team, UT Rio Grande is pulling down 35.3 rebounds per game and is sitting with 316 dimes on the campaign, which is 70th in college in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession via turnover 11.9 times per game and as a group are committing 17.7 personal fouls every game.

Defensively, the Vaqueros are able to force 11.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 15.7 fouls. They are ranked 235th in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 274 relinquished this season. The Vaqueros are allowing a FG percentage of 41.4% (456 of 1,101) and they relinquish 34.9 rebounds per game as a squad. They concede 31.2% from 3-point land while they are 101st in college hoops in opponents PPG (70.5).

In their last game, the Houston Christian Huskies took home the win by a final score of 82-80 when they played Northwestern State. Regarding rebounding, Houston Christian permitted Northwestern State to get 19 in total (9 on the offensive glass). They finished 36.8% from distance by connecting on 7 out of 19 and finished the contest at 19 of 24 at the charity stripe (79.2%). The Huskies permitted Northwestern State to bury 27 of their 48 attempts from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 56.3% for the contest. When all was said and done, the Huskies shot 27 out of 45 from the field which gave them a rate of 60.0%. In terms of shots from distance, Houston Christian knocked down 12 of their 20 attempts (60.0%). They were able to make 16 of them for a clip of 72.7%. Northwestern State was called for 15 fouls in this game which took the Huskies to the free throw line for a total of 22 attempts. They also coughed up the ball 8 times, while recording 3 steals in this game. The Huskies snagged 10 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 20 for the game.

Demari Williams pitched in for the Huskies for this game. He buried 5 of 8 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 62.5%, and had 3 rebounds. He earned 16 points in his 30 mins on the hardwood and had 1 assist for this game.

Houston Christian has a mark of 7-12 on the campaign. The Huskies are responsible for committing 15.1 personal fouls per contest and they connect on 67.4% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 14.7 times per contest (149th in college) and they are turning it over 12.6 times per game. Houston Christian has tallied 1,325 pts so far this season (69.7 per contest) and they pull in 32.2 boards per contest. On the offensive side of the court, the Huskies are shooting 45.5% from the field, which ranks them 172nd in D-1.

The Houston Christian defense concedes 35.9% on 3-pointers (158 of 440) and opponents are knocking down 71.6% of their free throw attempts. They surrender 14.3 assists and 33.1 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 257th and 90th in the nation. The Huskies on the defensive side of the court are 213th in college in points per game surrendered with 74.8. They are able to force 11.4 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 48.0% from the floor (342nd in Division 1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take UT Rio Grande

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