Utah Valley Wolverines vs Abilene Christian Wildcats Prediction, 1/3/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Utah Valley Wolverines vs Abilene Christian Wildcats

Date: Saturday, January 3, 2026

Location: Moody Coliseum in Abilene, TX

TV: ESPN+

The Abilene Christian Wildcats (8-5) will try to beat the Utah Valley Wolverines (11-3) at Moody Coliseum on Saturday.

The Utah Valley Wolverines faced off with California Baptist and notched a win by a score of 73-66 in their last game. In relation to fouls, the Wolverines ended up with 18 while California Baptist had 21 fouls. They converted 3 of their 12 shots from beyond the arc. California Baptist walked away from this one shooting 85.0% from the charity stripe by converting 17 of their 20 shots. On top of that, California Baptist pulled down 33 rebounds (4 offensive, 29 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. California Baptist recorded 12 dimes and had 3 steals in this contest. In the matter of the defense, Utah Valley allowed their opponent to shoot 51.1% from the field on 23 out of 45 shooting. They also doled out 22 assists for the contest as well as forcing 18 turnovers and getting 14 steals. When it comes to grabbing rebounds, they collected 20 with 2 of them being offensive. When they shot from the free throw line, the Wolverines buried 9 of 20 shots for a rate of 45.0%. Utah Valley ended having earned a 53.6% field goal percentage (30 of 56) and converted 4 out of their 14 shots from 3-point land.

Jackson Holcombe is a guy who played a role for the game. He finished the game at 58.8% from the field and also earned 5 assists. He was on the hardwood for 30 mins played and grabbed 3 boards. He racked up 25 points on 10 out of 17 shooting.

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Utah Valley enters this game with a win-loss record of 11-3 on the campaign. They are turning it over 14.2 times per game and as a team they commit 17.3 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Utah Valley is collecting 38.9 boards per game and has earned 288 dimes on the campaign, which is 4th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Wolverines are connecting on 35.3% on shots beyond the perimeter (106 of 300) and 69.3% from the charity stripe. They average 83.0 points per contest (82nd in college) on 52.1% from the floor.

On defense, the Wolverines are forcing 15.6 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.7 fouls. They relinquish 28.7% on 3-point shots while they are 20th in college in opponents points per game (64.1). The Wolverines defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 38.4% (308 of 803) and they surrender 30.9 boards per game as a team. They rank 72nd in college in giving up assists with 157 surrendered this year.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Abilene Christian Wildcats got the victory with a final of 75-68 when they played Texas Southern. The Wildcats recorded 22 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 29 in this contest. They also gave up possession 14 times, while earning 8 steals for this game. Texas Southern committed 23 fouls in the game which took the Wildcats to the charity stripe for a total of 27 shots. They were able to make 22 of the free throw tries for a rate of 81.5%. In terms of shots from 3-point land, Abilene Christian knocked down 5 out of their 19 tries (26.3%). When the game finished, the Wildcats ended up going 24 out of 50 from the field which gave them a rate of 48.0%. The Wildcats allowed Texas Southern to knock down 26 of 50 tries from the floor which left them shooting 52.0% in the matchup. They wrapped up this game 27.3% from 3-point land by shooting 3 of 11 and finished the game at 13 out of 19 from the charity stripe (68.4%). In regard to rebounding, Abilene Christian permitted Texas Southern to grab 23 overall (3 on the offensive glass).

Bradyn Hubbard ended up being a factor for the Wildcats in the game. He earned 22 points in his 34 minutes on the court and had 3 assists for the game. He converted 6 out of 13 for the game for a field goal rate of 46.2%, and had 6 rebounds.

Abilene Christian has a record of 8-5 on the campaign. As an offensive team, the Wildcats are connecting on 44.4% from the field, which ranks them 246th in the nation. Abilene Christian has scored 942 pts on the season (72.5 per contest) and they collect 35.0 rebounds per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.2 times per game (202nd in D-1) and they are losing possession via turnover 14.2 times per game. The Wildcats are committing 21.4 fouls every game while shooting 71.6% from the charity stripe.

The Abilene Christian defense allows 35.5% on 3-pointers (77 of 217) and their opposition makes 70.5% of their free throw attempts. They concede 10.8 dimes and 29.2 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks 32nd and 10th in college. The Wildcats defensively are ranked 102nd in college in PPG surrendered with 69.7. They are forcing 15.4 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 46.2% from the field (305th in college hoops).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Abilene Christian

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