Eastern Illinois vs Little Rock Prediction 1/15/2026 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The Eastern Illinois Panthers and the Little Rock Trojans meet Thursday in college basketball action from Jack Stephens Center. Here’s an Eastern Illinois vs Little Rock prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Eastern Illinois vs Little Rock pick. We will examine the recent form and player performances for both teams, as well as the recent betting trends and streaks pertaining to this matchup. As we conclude, we will tie it all together with a summary that produces a sensible pick for a favorable betting outcome in this game.

Eastern Illinois Panthers Betting Preview

The Panthers opened up the season on a pretty rough run, going just 2-8 over their first 10 games. Eastern Illinois’ only wins in that time were over Nicholls and Tiffin. The next six games were a 4-2 stretch featuring wins over SIU Edwardsville, East-West University, Tennessee Tech and Tennessee State alongside losses to Southeast Missouri State and Tennessee-Martin for a 6-10 run through the first 16 outings.

In their Tuesday matchup versus Western Illinois, Eastern Illinois took a 29-24 lead into the second half. The Panthers posted a 31-28 deficit the rest of the way but managed to hang on in the end 57-55. Leading the team in scoring was Terry McMorris, the only Panthers player to reach double-digits with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. Kooper Jacobi added 10 rebounds and nine points as well.

Little Rock Trojans Betting Preview

Over on the Little Rock side, they limped to an even uglier 2-9 record over their first 11 appearances of the season. The Trojans’ only wins in that time came courtesy of Arkansas Baptist and Ball State. Little Rock has found their groove with wins over Southern Indiana, Williams Baptist, Tennessee Tech, SIU Edwardsville and Lindenwood in six games since then for a 7-10 record this year so far.

Last weekend in the road matchup with Lindenwood, Little Rock was ahead 37-31 at the start of the second half. The Trojans posted a 45-43 run the rest of the way in an 82-74 victory. Braxton Bayless was the top team scorer on 21 points with seven rebounds and seven assists. Johnathan Lawson put up 20 points with five assists and three rebounds while Cameron Wallace doubled on 12 points and 10 boards.

Eastern Illinois Panthers @ Little Rock Trojans Betting Trends: January 15, 2026

Why the Little Rock Trojans will win

• Eastern Illinois has lost 12 of its last 13 away games when playing with a rest disadvantage.
• The home team has won 17 of Eastern Illinois’ last 19 games.

Why the Eastern Illinois Panthers will win

• Eastern Illinois has won each of its last three games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Little Rock has lost three of its last four night games against the Ohio Valley Conference at Jack Stephens Center.
• Eastern Illinois has won the first half in five of its last six games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Eastern Illinois vs Little Rock Prediction

I’ll stick with Little Rock. The Trojans were able to bag a road win over a decent Lindenwood team in their last outing, shooting a nice 53.2 percent from the field with 12-of-14 (85.7 percent) from the line and a 30-23 rebounding edge. Little Rock has looked much better during this 5-1 run than they did initially over the first six weeks of the season. The Trojans have scored 73 or more points in all six of those games.

As for Eastern Illinois, they got into a battle of low shooting percentages (37.3 percent) versus Western Illinois (31.7 percent) in their last outing, but at least won the game. The Panthers hit just 1-of-9 (11.1 percent) from outside and had a 35-32 rebounding deficit with 11 turnovers in that victory, so it wasn’t pretty. Still, that makes three straight wins for EIU with fewer than 62 points given up in two of those.

Andrew Jett's Pick: Little Rock Trojans -5.5