Western Illinois Leathernecks vs Tennessee State Tigers Prediction, 2/7/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Western Illinois Leathernecks vs Tennessee State Tigers

Date: Saturday, February 7, 2026

Location: Gentry Center in Nashville, TN

TV: ESPN+

Gentry Center is where the Tennessee State Tigers (14-8) will try to beat the Western Illinois Leathernecks (4-19) on Saturday.

The Western Illinois Leathernecks faced off with UT Martin and took a loss by a final of 84-44 in their last contest. When talking about fouls, the Leathernecks finished with 13 and UT Martin racked up 15 fouls. They buried 9 out of their 27 attempts from distance. UT Martin shot 76.5% at the free throw line by knocking down 13 of their 17 shots. Moreover, UT Martin pulled down 41 rebounds (13 offensive, 28 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. UT Martin earned 22 assists and had 13 steals for this game. When talking about the defense, Western Illinois let their opponent shoot 51.7% from the field on 31 out of 60 shooting. They also doled out 7 assists in this matchup as well as creating 6 turnovers and earning 4 steals. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they compiled 20 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Leathernecks buried 12 of 18 tries for a percentage of 66.7%. Western Illinois finished the contest having earned a 26.5% FG percentage (13 out of 49) and converted 6 of their 24 three-point shots.

Lucas Lorenzen is a guy who was a major factor for the game. He ended up with 8 points on 2 out of 8 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 24 mins but ended the game without a board. He ended up going 25.0% from the floor but had no assists when the time ran out.

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Western Illinois comes into this matchup with a mark of 4-19 on the season. They currently have an average of 65.3 points per outing (353rd in D-1) while shooting 40.0% from the field. The Leathernecks are shooting 30.0% on shots from distance (125 of 417) and 67.5% from the free throw line. As a unit, Western Illinois is grabbing 33.3 rebounds per game and has racked up 183 dimes for the season, which ranks 365th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 11.9 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 16.6 fouls per game.

When they are on defense, the Leathernecks are able to force 11.0 turnovers every game and they draw 17.4 personal fouls. They concede 35.7% on shots from distance and they are 233rd in D-1 in PPG from their opponents (75.6). The Leathernecks defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 46.6% (616 of 1,323) and they relinquish 35.6 rebounds per contest as a unit. They currently rank 202nd in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 311 surrendered this season.

The last time they took the court, the Tennessee State Tigers took a loss by a final score of 90-85 against Tennessee Tech. In relation to how they attacked the glass, Tennessee State allowed Tennessee Tech to get 24 in total (5 on the offensive glass). They finished 62.5% from distance by connecting on 15 of 24 and walked away from this one shooting 19 out of 25 from the free throw line (76.0%). The Tigers allowed Tennessee Tech to make 28 out of 53 attempts from the field which had them at 52.8% for this contest. When the final whistle blew, the Tigers finished 33 out of 71 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.5%. In regard to three-point shots, Tennessee State knocked down 6 out of their 24 attempts (25.0%). They were able to knock down 13 of those for a rate of 76.5%. Tennessee Tech committed 14 fouls in the game which got the Tigers to the charity stripe for a total of 17 attempts. They also coughed up the ball 8 times, while getting 7 steals for the game. The Tigers collected 20 defensive rebounds and 17 offensive rebounds for a total of 37 for the contest.

Aaron Nkrumah ended up being a factor for the Tigers for the game. He recorded 21 points in his 26 mins on the court, but wasn't able to earn an assist. He buried 7 of 17 for the matchup for a field goal rate of 41.2%, and added 7 rebounds.

Tennessee State has a win-loss record of 14-8 on the year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Tigers are connecting on 46.1% from the field, which is 137th in Division 1. Tennessee State has totaled 1,782 points on the campaign (81.0 per contest) and they snag 38.4 boards per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 13.8 times per contest (210th in the nation) and they are turning it over 12.7 times per contest. The Tigers commit 18.5 personal fouls per game and they shoot 73.5% from the charity stripe.

The Tennessee State defense concedes 33.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter (160 of 477) and opponents are converting on 73.4% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have surrendered 14.0 assists and 35.1 rebounds per contest, which is ranked 231st and 216th in those categories on the defensive end. The Tigers are ranked 260th in college in points allowed per contest with 76.8. They are forcing 14.7 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 45.1% from the field (244th in the nation).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Western Illinois

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