Youngstown State Penguins vs Northern Kentucky Norse Prediction, 1/4/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Youngstown State Penguins vs Northern Kentucky Norse

Date: Sunday, January 4, 2026

Location: Truist Arena in Highland Heights, KY

TV: ESPN+

The Northern Kentucky Norse (10-5) will try to defeat the Youngstown State Penguins (8-6) at Truist Arena on Sunday.

The Youngstown State Penguins took the court against Detroit and took a loss by a final of 73-68 in their last contest. In reference to personal fouls, the Penguins finished with 19 while Detroit accumulated 19 personal fouls. They converted 7 of their 15 shots from long range. Detroit walked away from this one shooting 72.0% when shooting free throws by making 18 of their 25 tries. On top of that, Detroit collected 38 rebounds (12 offensive, 26 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Detroit earned 11 dimes and had 5 steals in this game. Regarding defense, Youngstown State let their opponent shoot 42.9% from the field on 24 of 56 shooting. They also recorded 11 assists in this contest in addition to forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and earning 10 steals. In relation to pulling down rebounds, they earned 36 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Penguins converted 14 of 20 tries for a rate of 70.0%. Youngstown State ended with a 32.8% FG percentage (22 of 67) and converted 10 out of their 38 shots from distance.

Cris Carroll is a guy who was a major factor in the game. He left the arena with 15 points on 4 of 12 shooting. He saw the court for 34 mins and also pulled down 8 rebounds. He went 33.3% from the floor and totaled 1 assist.

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Youngstown State will play this contest with a mark of 8-6 for the year. They are turning it over 13.9 times per game and as a team they commit 17.9 fouls every game. As a unit, Youngstown State is grabbing 35.6 boards per game and has 202 dimes for the season, which has them ranked 167th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. The Penguins are hitting 35.7% on shots from beyond the arc (143 of 401) and 71.9% from the free throw line. They have an average of 78.9 points per outing (152nd in college) while shooting 47.0% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Penguins are forcing their opponents into 14.4 turnovers per game while drawing 16.6 personal fouls. They are giving up 29.5% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 95th in college in points per game allowed (69.3). The Penguins defense is giving up a FG percentage of 42.6% (348 of 816) and they relinquish 33.7 boards per game as a unit. They rank 65th in the nation in giving up assists to their opponents with 155 surrendered this year.

In their last game, the Northern Kentucky Norse took home the win by a final score of 79-77 when they faced Robert Morris. The Norse recorded 23 defensive rebounds and 3 offensive rebounds totaling 26 for this contest. They also coughed it up 12 times, while recording 10 steals in the game. Robert Morris had 17 personal fouls for the contest which took the Norse to the charity stripe for 27 attempts. They were able to make 20 of the free throw tries for a rate of 74.1%. Concerning shooting from distance, Northern Kentucky buried 3 out of their 12 tries (25.0%). When the game finished, the Norse went 28 out of 52 from the floor which gave them a rate of 53.8%. The Norse permitted Robert Morris to make 29 of their 63 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 46.0% in this game. They finished 37.5% from 3-point land by shooting 12 out of 32 and finished the game at 7 out of 14 from the charity stripe (50.0%). When it comes to rebounding, Northern Kentucky permitted Robert Morris to snag 36 in all (14 on the offensive side).

Donovan Oday ended up being a factor for the Norse for the matchup. He recorded 16 points in his 25 minutes on the court and had 2 assists for this game. He buried 4 out of 11 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 36.4%, and had 3 rebounds.

Northern Kentucky has a record of 10-5 for the campaign. The Norse are responsible for committing 18.3 fouls per game and they hit 73.1% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 15.6 times per contest (120th in college hoops) and they are turning it over 13.1 times per game. Northern Kentucky has scored 1,259 points on the season (83.9 per contest) and they grab 35.7 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Norse are shooting 47.7% from the field, which has them ranked 83rd in the country.

The Norse on the defensive side of the court are 234th in college in PPG given up with 75.3. They are forcing their opponents into 16.1 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 45.0% from the floor (267th in college hoops). The Northern Kentucky defense allows 35.4% from downtown (124 of 350) and opponents are knocking down 70.3% of their free throw shots. They surrender 14.3 assists and 33.6 boards per game, ranking them 254th and 134th in college.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Youngstown State

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