Valparaiso Beacons vs Illinois State Redbirds Prediction, 2/12/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Valparaiso Beacons vs Illinois State Redbirds

Date: Thursday, February 12, 2026

Location: CEFCU Arena in Normal, IL

TV: ESPN+

CEFCU Arena is the site where the Illinois State Redbirds (16-9) will play the Valparaiso Beacons (13-12) on Thursday.

The Valparaiso Beacons played Drake and walked away with a win by a score of 81-76 in their last game. In the matter of fouls, the Beacons walked away with 17 while Drake finished the game with 22 fouls. They also converted 7 out of their 27 shots from beyond the arc. Drake went 64.3% from the free throw line by converting 9 of their 14 shots. In addition, Drake snagged 30 rebounds (13 offensive, 17 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Drake recorded 8 dimes and had 4 steals for the matchup. With respect to the defense, Valparaiso allowed their opponent to shoot 43.5% from the field on 30 of 69 shooting. They also recorded 11 assists for the contest as well as forcing 6 turnovers and having 3 steals. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 39 with 11 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Beacons made 18 of 27 shots for a percentage of 66.7%. Valparaiso wrapped up the game with a 50.0% field goal percentage (27 of 54) and made 9 of their 22 shots from downtown.

JT Pettigrew is a guy who came through for this contest. He ended up going 72.7% from the floor and dished out 2 dimes. He played for 35 mins and also pulled down 12 boards. He totaled 23 points on 8 out of 11 shooting.

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Valparaiso comes into this one with a win-loss mark of 13-12 on the season. They turn the ball over 10.8 times per game and as a squad are committing 18.0 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Valparaiso is grabbing 37.2 rebounds per game and is sitting with 282 dimes on the season, which is 326th in the country in terms of passing. The Beacons are hitting 32.3% on three-point attempts (174 of 538) and 71.2% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 71.4 pts per contest (292nd in the nation) while going 41.8% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Beacons are forcing 11.7 turnovers per game and they draw 19.1 personal fouls. They are ranked 78th in college in allowing assists with 291 surrendered on the year. The Beacons defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 43.4% (617 of 1,423) and they surrender 35.6 rebounds per game as a squad. They are giving up 31.2% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 85th in college hoops in opponents PPG (70.2).

In their last game, the Illinois State Redbirds went home defeated by a final of 88-80 when they played Evansville. The Redbirds snagged 21 defensive rebounds and 5 offensive boards totaling 26 for this game. They turned the ball over 7 times, while earning 5 steals for the contest. Evansville committed 12 personal fouls for the game which took the Redbirds to the free throw line for 14 attempts. They were able to bury 10 of them for a rate of 71.4%. Concerning 3-point shots, Illinois State knocked down 12 out of 29 tries (41.4%). When the final whistle blew, the Redbirds ended up shooting 29 out of 59 from the floor which gave them a rate of 49.2%. The Redbirds allowed Evansville to make 29 out of their 51 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 56.9% for the matchup. They wrapped up this game 66.7% from 3-point land by connecting on 14 of 21 and finished the contest at 16 out of 19 at the charity stripe (84.2%). When it comes to rebounding, Illinois State permitted Evansville to snag 25 in all (1 on the offensive glass).

Landon Moore ended up being a factor for the Redbirds for this game. He totaled 16 points in his 23 mins of playing time and had 1 assist in the matchup. He knocked down 5 of 6 in this contest for a rate of 83.3%, and had 1 rebound.

Illinois State has a win-loss record of 16-9 for the year. As an offensive unit, the Redbirds are shooting 47.1% from the field, which is 75th in the nation. Illinois State has earned 1,920 pts on the season (76.8 per contest) and they average 36.9 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 13.9 times per contest (191st in college) and they lose possession via turnover 10.9 times per contest. The Redbirds have committed 17.2 fouls per contest and they connect on 68.6% from the charity stripe.

The Redbirds on the defensive end are ranked 37th in college in PPG allowed with 67.6. They are forcing their opponents into 11.4 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 42.3% from the field (85th in college). The Illinois State defense allows 32.3% on 3-point attempts (164 of 508) and their opponents are connecting on 69.3% of their free throw attempts. They relinquish 11.8 dimes and 32.4 rebounds per contest, which is 61st and 63rd in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Valparaiso

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