Bellarmine vs Jacksonville Prediction 2/8/25 College Basketball Picks

The Bellarmine Knights and the Jacksonville Dolphins meet Saturday in college basketball action from Swisher Gym. Here’s a Bellarmine vs Jacksonville prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Bellarmine vs Jacksonville pick. We will examine: 

The Bellarmine Knights’ recent form and player performance

The Jacksonville Dolphins’ recent form and player performance 

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Bellarmine Knights

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Jacksonville Dolphins

Recent betting trends in games played between Bellarmine and Jacksonville

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Bellarmine vs Jacksonville game

Bellarmine Knights Betting Preview

It’s been a rough season for the Knights so far—to put it mildly. Bellarmine lost seven of their first 10 games this year, dropping to VCU, VMI, Southern Indiana, Marshall, Louisville, Northern Kentucky, and Western Carolina during that opening stretch. The Knights have hit the skids on a losing streak since December 7. Those losses have come versus Ball State, Wyoming, Colorado, North Alabama, Central Arkansas, Jacksonville, North Florida, Lipscomb, Eastern Kentucky, Florida Gulf Coast, Stetson, Austin Peay, Lipscomb, and North Florida in succession. That gives Bellarmine a rough 3-21 record overall through their first 24 outings of the year. 

In the Thursday matchup with North Florida, the Knights were within four points at halftime. Bellarmine didn’t end up getting any closer than that however, falling further behind on a 50-47 run during a 95-88 loss in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Jack Karasinski with 28 points and three rebounds in 30 minutes. Billy Smith added 14 points with six assists and one rebound, while Landin Hacker came off the bench for 11 points and three assists. 

Jacksonville Dolphins Betting Preview

Over on the Jacksonville side, they didn’t start out so hot but they’ve been better since early January. The Dolphins lost to Florida, Furman, Mercer, Georgia, FAU, UCF, and Lipscomb during a spotty 6-7 opening run. After a winning streak over Austin Peay, Bellarmine, Eastern Kentucky, North Alabama, Central Arkansas, West Georgia, and Queens U, Jacksonville lost to Florida Gulf Coast and North Florida before another victory versus Stetson. So far that gives the Dolphins a 14-9 overall run through their first 23 outings of the season. 

On Thursday matched up against Stetson, the Dolphins went into the second half sporting a 35-23 advantage. Jacksonville was outscored 42-39 the rest of the way but held on for the win 74-65 in the end. Leading team scorer Kendall Munson put up 23 points with seven boards and three assists. Stephon Payne added a double-double with 14 points, 12 boards and three assists, while Jakari Spence had 12 points, nine boards and five assists. 

Why the Jacksonville Dolphins will win

• Bellarmine has lost each of its last 17 road games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Jacksonville has won eight of its last 10 games against the ASUN Conference.
• Jacksonville has won the first half in six of its last seven games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the Bellarmine Knights will win

• Jacksonville has lost five of its last six home night games against the ASUN Conference.
• The road team has won seven of Jacksonville’s last nine games.

Bellarmine vs Jacksonville Prediction

I’ll lean toward Jacksonville. The Dolphins are coming off a decent road win over a struggling Stetson team this week. Jacksonville shot 44.4 percent from the field in that one and had a 45-35 rebounding edge with just nine turnovers. On defense, the Dolphins held the Hatters to just 36.8 percent shooting in a pretty nice overall effort. That gives Jacksonville 72 or more points in six straight games, a 4-2 run. 

These teams last met up back on January 9 in a 74-59 road win for the Dolphins. Jacksonville again controlled their turnovers well (nine) and shot 44.3 percent from the field alongside a 39-26 rebounding advantage. The Dolphins gave up just 39.6 percent shooting on the other side as well. 

The good news for Bellarmine is that they’re putting up some nice points totals: 76 or more in four straight. The bad news is that they’re giving up a truckload of points on defense: 71 or more in each installment of this current 14-game losing streak. Jacksonville should have plenty of room to score in this one.