Central Arkansas vs North Alabama Prediction 2/1/25 College Basketball Picks

The Central Arkansas Bears and the North Alabama Lions meet Saturday in college basketball action from Flowers Hall. Here’s a Central Arkansas vs North Alabama prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Central Arkansas vs North Alabama pick. We will examine: 

The Central Arkansas Bears’ recent form and player performance

The North Alabama Lions’ recent form and player performance 

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Central Arkansas Bears

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the North Alabama Lions

Recent betting trends in games played between Central Arkansas and North Alabama

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Central Arkansas vs North Alabama game

Central Arkansas Bears Betting Preview

Central Arkansas has put up a decent run here and there this year, but it’s mostly been a long string of losses. The Bears opened on a 2-8 run with defeats courtesy of BYU, Utah, Western Illinois, Southeast Missouri State, Georgia Tech, Little Rock, AR-Pine Bluff, and Arkansas. A 3-2 run came next with wins over the Citadel, Southwestern Christian, and Bellarmine among losses to Oklahoma and Eastern Kentucky. A losing streak versus Stetson, Florida Gulf Coast, North Florida, Jacksonville, Austin Peay, and Lipscomb ensued, then a win over West Georgia. The result so far has been a rough 6-16 overall run through 22 games so far this year. 

In the West Georgia matchup on Wednesday, the Bears posted a 44-32 run in the first half. Central Arkansas fell behind 38-31 the rest of the way but still powered out the win 75-70 in the end. Leading the team in scoring during the victory was Ben Fox with his 18 points, four assists, one steal, and one rebound. Elias Cato added 17 points with eight boards and a block, while Cole McCormick chipped in with 11 points, five boards, three assists, and three steals. 

North Alabama Lions Betting Preview

Over on the North Alabama side, they’ve been unable to sustain too many win streaks this year but overall they’re not doing too badly record-wise. The Lions opened on a 5-4 run with wins over Air Force, Point University, Tennessee Martin, Louisiana Monroe, and Dalton State. After a 5-1 run that featured a lone loss to Loyola Marymount among wins over Tennessee Tech, East Carolina, Charleston Southern, Bellarmine and Eastern Kentucky, North Alabama hit a 1-2 stretch with a win over Stetson in between losses to Florida Gulf Coast and Jacksonville. Since then it’s been wins over North Florida, Lipscomb, and Austin Peay ahead of another loss to Queens U, giving the Lions a 14-8 overall record through the first 22 games of the campaign. 

Matched up against Queens in their latest outing on Wednesday, the Lions came out of the locker room looking up at a 31-28 deficit on the scoreboard. North Alabama didn’t end up getting any closer during a 44-39 deficit in the second half and lost 75-67. Jacari Lane led the team on 22 points with three rebounds and two assists in the losing effort. Taye Fields doubled up on 14 points with 13 rebounds, one steal, and one block in 34 minutes of work. 

Why the North Alabama Lions will win

• North Alabama has won each of its last seven games at CB&S Bank Arena at Flowers Hall.
• Central Arkansas has lost each of its last six games following a home win.
• Central Arkansas has lost the first half in each of its last seven Saturday games against Conference opponents.

Central Arkansas vs North Alabama Prediction 

I’ll lean toward North Alabama. The Lions couldn’t quite keep pace with a decent Queens team in their last outing and lost out on continuing their win streak. North Alabama shot just 36.8 percent from the field in that one with a 40-35 rebounding deficit and 11 turnovers for 16 Royals points. The 67-point total was a disappointing one following three straight games with 74 points or more, so if North Alabama can get back to that threshold on Saturday they should be in promising shape. Central Arkansas has given up 68 or more points in seven straight games, so the Lions should have plenty of solid offensive opportunities in this one.