UT Rio Grande Vaqueros vs Northwestern State Demons Prediction, 1/12/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UTRGV Vaqueros vs Northwestern State Demons

Date: Monday, January 12, 2026

Location: Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches, LA

TV: ESPN+

Prather Coliseum is the location where the Northwestern State Demons (4-11) will try to defeat the UTRGV Vaqueros (6-9) on Monday.

The UTRGV Vaqueros faced Incarnate Word and notched a win by a score of 80-67 in their last contest. With respect to personal fouls, the Vaqueros ended up with 16 while Incarnate Word accumulated 15 personal fouls. They converted 7 out of their 23 tries from 3-point land. Incarnate Word shot 70.0% when shooting free throws by knocking down 14 of their 20 shots. Additionally, Incarnate Word snagged 31 rebounds (13 offensive, 18 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Incarnate Word earned 11 assists and had 8 steals in the matchup. In the matter of defending, UT Rio Grande allowed the other team to shoot 34.8% from the field on 23 of 66 shooting. They also dished out 23 assists for the matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and having 7 steals. When discussing hauling in boards, they collected 37 with 13 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Vaqueros knocked down 13 of 15 shots for a rate of 86.7%. UT Rio Grande wrapped up the game with a 47.5% FG percentage (29 out of 61) and buried 9 of their 32 3-point attempts.

Filip Brankovic is one guy who was a contributor in the matchup. He finished 62.5% from the floor and also totaled 3 assists. He was on the court for 34 minutes and totaled 9 rebounds. He ended up scoring 29 points on 10 of 16 shooting.

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UT Rio Grande will enter this game with a mark of 6-9 for the season. They turn it over 11.9 times per contest and as a squad are committing 17.9 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, UT Rio Grande is snagging 36.6 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 249 dimes for the campaign, which is 86th in college hoops in terms of passing. The Vaqueros are connecting on 37.4% on shots from 3-point land (139 of 372) and 71.7% from the free throw line. They average 75.5 points per outing (220th in the nation) while hitting 45.9% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Vaqueros are able to force 11.7 turnovers per contest and they draw 15.6 personal fouls. They are ranked 194th in Division 1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 208 surrendered for the campaign. The Vaqueros are allowing a field goal percentage of 41.1% (359 of 874) and they relinquish 35.2 rebounds per contest as a team. They surrender 31.5% on shots from downtown and they are ranked 109th in the nation in opponents PPG (70.5).

In their last game, the Northwestern State Demons took a loss by a score of 74-72 when they faced Nicholls State. The Demons were able to corral 25 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 33 in this contest. They also turned it over 11 times, while recording 5 steals in this contest. Nicholls State earned 20 personal fouls in this contest which took the Demons to the free throw line for 21 shots. They were able to convert 15 of them for a clip of 71.4%. With respect to shots from distance, Northwestern State converted 5 of 22 attempts (22.7%). When the final whistle blew, the Demons walked away from this one shooting 26 out of 56 from the floor which had them at 46.4%. The Demons allowed Nicholls State to knock down 27 of 54 attempts from the field which had them shooting 50.0% in this game. They finished the game shooting 23.8% from distance via 5 out of 21 and ended up shooting 15 out of 31 at the free throw line (48.4%). In regard to cleaning up the glass, Northwestern State permitted Nicholls State to collect 28 in all (9 on the offensive glass).

Micah Thomas ended up being a factor for the Demons for this contest. He accumulated 29 points in his 31 mins on the court, but wasn't able to notch an assist. He converted 10 of 20 for this game for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and had 1 rebound.

Northwestern State has a win-loss mark of 4-11 this year. The Demons have committed 18.3 fouls every game and they go 73.4% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 12.4 times per game (306th in college) and they are giving up possession 12.1 times per contest. Northwestern State has earned 1,087 points so far this season (72.5 per game) and they grab 30.5 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Demons are connecting on 44.5% from the field, which ranks 235th in the country.

The Northwestern State defense gives up 35.5% on three-point shots (117 of 330) and opponents are converting on 68.5% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 15.1 assists and 35.3 rebounds per game, ranking them 286th and 222nd in college. The Demons defensively are ranked 295th in the nation in points given up per game with 78.0. They are able to force 11.8 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 48.3% from the field (345th in college).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take UT Rio Grande

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