North Alabama Lions vs Florida Gulf Coast Eagles Prediction, 1/9/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: North Alabama Lions vs Florida Gulf Coast Eagles

Date: Thursday, January 9, 2025

Location: Alico Arena in Fort Myers, FL

TV: ESPN+

The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (6-9) will try to beat the North Alabama Lions (10-5) at Alico Arena on Thursday.

The North Alabama Lions played Eastern Kentucky and earned the victory with a final of 88-67 in their last contest. North Alabama wrapped up the contest having earned a 47.8% FG percentage (32 of 67) and made 7 of their 23 three-point attempts. When they shot from the free throw line, the Lions knocked down 17 of their 24 shots for a percentage of 70.8%. With regard to rebounding, they compiled 51 with 19 of them being of the offensive sort. They also distributed 17 assists in the game in addition to forcing the opposition into 6 turnovers and getting 5 steals. With respect to defending, North Alabama allowed 34.8% from the field on 23 of 66 shooting. Eastern Kentucky doled out 8 assists and had 8 steals for this game. In addition, Eastern Kentucky pulled down 31 rebounds (10 offensive, 21 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Eastern Kentucky finished shooting 84.2% from the charity stripe by knocking down 16 of 19 shots. They also made 5 out of their 27 shots from 3-point land. Regarding fouls, the Lions left the arena with 15 while Eastern Kentucky recorded 21 fouls.

Canin Jefferson is a player who was a major contributor for the game. He finished shooting 46.2% from the field and recorded 2 assists. He played 28 minutes and snagged 4 boards. He accumulated 18 points on 6 of 13 shooting.

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North Alabama steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss mark of 10-5 for the year. They are giving up possession 9.6 times per game and as a squad are committing 14.7 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, North Alabama is snagging 36.7 boards per game and has 191 assists so far this season, which is 260th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. The Lions are shooting 33.3% on shots from 3-point land (120 of 360) and 72.2% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 79.1 points per game (94th in Division 1) while going 45.8% from the floor.

Defensively, the Lions are able to force 13.1 turnovers per contest while drawing 15.5 personal fouls. They are conceding 32.0% on shots from distance while they are 196th in the nation in points per game allowed (71.5). The Lions are allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 44.1% (394 of 893) and they surrender 35.2 rebounds per game as a squad. They are 250th in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 209 conceded for the campaign.

When they last stepped on the court, the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 92-83 against Queens. Regarding cleaning the glass, Florida Gulf Coast permitted Queens to collect 33 in total (12 on the offensive glass). They shot 41.4% from three-point range by going 12 of 29 and ended up going 18 of 23 at the free throw line (78.3%). The Eagles permitted Queens to convert 31 of their 60 tries from the field which had them shooting 51.7% for the game. Overall, the Eagles shot 30 for 67 from the field which gave them a rate of 44.8%. When talking about three-point attempts, Florida Gulf Coast buried 12 out of 27 tries (44.4%). They were able to knock down 11 of them for a percentage of 68.8%. Queens earned 15 personal fouls for the contest which took the Eagles to the charity stripe for a total of 16 attempts. They also gave up possession 7 times, while recording 4 steals in the matchup. The Eagles were able to pull down 18 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 27 in this game.

Dallion Johnson ended up being a factor for the Eagles in the game. He buried 7 of 15 for this game for a field goal percentage of 46.7%, and accumulated 2 rebounds. He scored 22 points in his 36 minutes on the court and had 3 dimes for the matchup.

Florida Gulf Coast has a mark of 6-9 this year. As an offensive unit, the Eagles are shooting 45.3% from the floor, which is 170th in college. Florida Gulf Coast has accounted for 1,036 points on the campaign (69.1 per game) and they pull in 32.9 boards per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 13.4 times per game (231st in college) and they turn it over 10.6 times per game. The Eagles are committing 15.4 personal fouls per game and they connect on 66.1% from the charity stripe.

The Florida Gulf Coast defense concedes 33.0% on 3-point attempts (125 of 379) and opponents are converting on 74.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They concede 12.9 dimes and 33.4 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks them 183rd and 132nd in the country. The Eagles are ranked 128th in the nation in points per game surrendered with 69.4. They are forcing their opponents into 10.1 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.9% from the field (178th in D-1).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take North Alabama

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