Utah Valley Wolverines vs Southern Utah Thunderbirds Prediction, 1/21/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Utah Valley Wolverines vs Southern Utah Thunderbirds

Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Location: America First Events Center in Cedar City, UT

TV: ESPN+

The Southern Utah Thunderbirds (6-13) are hosting the Utah Valley Wolverines (15-4) at America First Events Center on Wednesday.

The Utah Valley Wolverines took the court against UT Arlington and walked away with a win by a score of 86-74 in their last game. In reference to fouls, the Wolverines ended up with 19 and UT Arlington totaled 19 fouls. They knocked down 6 of 20 shots from distance. UT Arlington finished the game at 76.9% at the charity stripe by knocking down 20 of their 26 tries. On top of that, UT Arlington pulled down 30 boards (12 offensive, 18 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. UT Arlington recorded 8 assists and had 8 steals in this matchup. In reference to the defense, Utah Valley allowed the other team to go 42.9% from the field on 24 out of 56 shooting. They also recorded 18 assists in the matchup while creating 14 turnovers and getting 7 steals. In the matter of hauling in rebounds, they compiled 32 with 14 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the Wolverines made 17 of 28 tries for a percentage of 60.7%. Utah Valley ended the game with a 53.3% field goal percentage (32 out of 60) and knocked down 5 out of their 15 shots from distance.

Jackson Holcombe is a guy who was a factor in this contest. He finished the game at 40.0% from the floor and also totaled 5 assists. He played for 37 mins and grabbed 8 boards. He accounted for 16 points on 6 of 15 shooting.

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Utah Valley heads into this game with a mark of 15-4 on the year. They average 83.6 points per game (61st in the country) while hitting 52.2% from the floor. The Wolverines are connecting on 35.6% on shots from beyond the arc (138 of 388) and 70.6% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Utah Valley is snagging 38.2 rebounds per contest and has 381 assists so far this season, which is 3rd in the nation in terms of passing the rock. They are losing possession via turnover 14.6 times per game and as a unit they are committing 17.7 fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Wolverines are forcing 15.0 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.3 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 127th in college in giving up assists to the opposition with 233 surrendered this year. The Wolverines defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 40.3% (443 of 1,099) and they relinquish 30.5 boards per contest as a team. They are relinquishing 30.4% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they rank 50th in D-1 in points per game from their opponents (67.9).

When they last stepped on the court, the Southern Utah Thunderbirds took home the win by a final score of 74-52 against Abilene Christian. The Thunderbirds snagged 30 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive boards for a total of 38 in this contest. They also coughed it up 17 times, while recording 7 steals for the contest. Abilene Christian was called for 14 fouls in this matchup which got the Thunderbirds to the free throw line for 14 attempts. They were able to bury 10 of the free throws for a rate of 71.4%. With regard to 3-point attempts, Southern Utah knocked down 8 out of 22 attempts (36.4%). When the game finished, the Thunderbirds finished 28 for 58 from the floor which had them at 48.3%. The Thunderbirds allowed Abilene Christian to make 15 of their 63 attempts from the field which had them shooting 23.8% for the contest. They wrapped up this game 16.7% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 3 out of 18 and finished the contest at 19 out of 25 at the charity stripe (76.0%). When discussing how they cleaned up the glass, Southern Utah permitted Abilene Christian to pull down 34 in all (13 offensive).

Jaiden Feroah ended up being a factor for the Thunderbirds for the contest. He knocked down 6 of 13 for this contest for a rate of 46.2%, and had 10 rebounds. He earned 16 points in his 34 minutes on the court and tallied 2 assists for the game.

Southern Utah has a mark of 6-13 so far this season. On the offensive side of the ball, the Thunderbirds are hitting on 45.0% from the floor, which ranks them 206th in the nation. Southern Utah has scored 1,460 points this year (76.8 per game) and they pull in 37.1 boards per game. They are earning an assist 14.4 times per contest (178th in college) and they are turning it over 13.9 times per contest. The Thunderbirds are committing 16.6 personal fouls per contest and they go 71.5% from the free throw line.

The Thunderbirds on the defensive side of the court are 323rd in D-1 in PPG surrendered with 80.2. They have forced 11.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 45.8% from the field (292nd in college). The Southern Utah defense allows 37.5% on 3-pointers (140 of 373) and their opponents are knocking down 71.9% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have allowed 13.5 assists and 37.6 boards per game, which has them ranked 196th and 322nd in Division 1.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Southern Utah

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