UT Rio Grande Vaqueros vs SE Louisiana Lions Prediction, 2/21/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UTRGV Vaqueros vs SE Louisiana Lions

Date: Saturday, February 21, 2026

Location: University Center in Hammond, LA

TV: ESPN+

University Center is the location where the SE Louisiana Lions (8-19) will attempt to beat the UTRGV Vaqueros (15-12) on Saturday.

The UTRGV Vaqueros took the court against Lamar and went home with a win by a final score of 70-65 in their last game. UT Rio Grande ended the game having earned a 36.1% field goal percentage (22 of 61) and made 9 of their 28 shots from 3-point land. When they shot from the free throw line, the Vaqueros knocked down 17 of 23 attempts for a percentage of 73.9%. With regard to grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 30 with 11 of them being offensive. They also doled out 17 assists in the game as well as forcing the opposition into 6 turnovers and earning 3 steals. Concerning defending, UT Rio Grande allowed their opponent to shoot 44.8% from the floor on 26 out of 58 shooting. Lamar distributed 14 assists and had 1 steal for the contest. On top of that, Lamar collected 37 boards (10 offensive, 27 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Lamar ended up going 43.8% at the charity stripe by making 7 of 16 tries. They buried 6 of their 11 attempts from beyond the arc. When talking about personal fouls, the Vaqueros ended up finishing with 14 while Lamar accounted for 18 personal fouls.

Filip Brankovic is one guy who came through for this game. He finished the game shooting 50.0% from the field and also totaled 2 assists. He was on the hardwood for 25 mins played and also totaled 4 boards. He finished with 19 points on 8 out of 16 shooting.

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UT Rio Grande comes into this one with a win-loss record of 15-12 so far this season. They average 75.5 pts per contest (196th in D-1) while shooting 46.7% from the floor. The Vaqueros are shooting 36.7% on shots from beyond the arc (248 of 675) and 75.4% from the free throw line. As a team, UT Rio Grande is grabbing 35.3 boards per game and has accounted for 450 assists on the year, which has them ranked 41st in D-1 in terms of passing. They turn the ball over 11.7 times per game and as a group are committing 17.7 fouls per contest.

On defense, the Vaqueros are forcing their opponents into 11.4 turnovers every game and they draw 15.9 fouls. They surrender 31.2% on 3-point attempts and they rank 71st in the country in opponents points per game (69.4). The Vaqueros defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 41.4% (642 of 1,550) and they surrender 34.1 rebounds per game as a group. They rank 246th in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 373 relinquished for the season.

In their last game, the SE Louisiana Lions took a defeat with a final score of 70-53 against East Texas A&M. With respect to rebounding, SE Louisiana permitted East Texas A&M to grab 38 overall (4 on the offensive glass). They finished shooting 30.0% from 3-point land by going 6 out of 20 and finished the game at 12 out of 23 at the free throw line (52.2%). The Lions allowed East Texas A&M to make 26 out of 51 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 51.0% in this game. When the final whistle blew, the Lions ended up going 17 for 58 from the field which gave them a rate of 29.3%. In regard to three-point shots, SE Louisiana converted 8 of their 25 attempts (32.0%). They were able to convert 11 of them for a percentage of 61.1%. East Texas A&M was called for 15 fouls in this game which got the Lions to the free throw line for 18 shots. They also gave up possession 10 times, while recording 9 steals for the matchup. The Lions were able to collect 25 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 34 in this contest.

Jalen Forrest pitched in for the Lions for the contest. He buried 3 out of 10 in the matchup for a field goal rate of 30.0%, and had 4 rebounds. He earned 13 points in his 30 minutes on the hardwood and added 2 dimes in this contest.

SE Louisiana has a win-loss record of 8-19 so far this season. The Lions have committed 17.9 personal fouls every game and they go 68.4% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 11.6 times per game (332nd in D-1) and they lose possession via turnover 12.7 times per contest. SE Louisiana has scored 1,731 pts on the year (64.1 per contest) and they grab 32.4 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Lions are hitting on 40.9% from the floor, which is ranked 348th in the nation.

The SE Louisiana defense concedes 34.4% on shots from beyond the arc (188 of 546) and their opponents are knocking down 73.6% of their free throw attempts. They concede 12.1 dimes and 34.8 rebounds per game, which is ranked 83rd and 206th in college. The Lions on defense are ranked 68th in Division 1 in points per game surrendered with 69.2. They have forced 12.9 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 44.2% from the field (191st in Division 1).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UT Rio Grande

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