Incarnate Word vs UT Rio Grande Valley Prediction 2/17/25 College Basketball Picks

The Incarnate Word Cardinals and the UTRGV Vaqueros meet Saturday in college basketball action from the William R. Johnson Coliseum. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s an Incarnate Word vs. UTRGV Prediction.

Incarnate Word Recap

The Incarnate Word Cardinals come into this game looking to bounce back from a 69-55 loss at the hands of Texas A&M-CC last time out to fall to 12-14 on the year. After this game, Incarnate Word will head back home for a matchup with Stephen F. Austin.

Cardinals Lose 3 Of Last 4

Davion Bailey leads the Cardinals in scoring with 17.2 PPG along with 3 RPG while Dylan Hayman has 13.3 PPG and 5.1 RPG as well on the year. Jalin Anderson has 14.3 PPG with a team-high 5.3 APG to lead the Cardinals in the assist department along with 3.2 RPG as well while Jordan Pyke has added 11.7 PPG with 5.7 RPG to cap off the scoring in double figures for Incarnate Word so far this season. Jayden Williams has added 5.7 PPG and 4.9 RPG up to this point in the year. As a team, Incarnate Word is averaging 75.5 PPG on 48.3% shooting from the field, 37.5% from three, and 68.7% from the foul line this season.

Why the Incarnate Word Cardinals will win

• Texas–Rio Grande Valley has lost each of its last four night games.

UTRGV Recap

The UTRGV Vaqueros come into this game looking to build on their 76-52 win over Houston Christian last time out to improve to 14-12 on the year. After this game, UTRGV will head on the road for a rematch with Nicholls.

Vaqueros Looking To Build Momentum

Hasan Abdul Hakim leads the Vaqueros in scoring with 13.3 PPG along with 6.8 RPG and 2.9 APG in 12 games played so far this season while Cliff Davis has 11.3 PPG with 4.6 RPG. K.T. Raimey has 10.4 PPG and DK Thorn’s added 12 PPG with 3.6 RPG. Howie Fleming Jr. has 11 PPG with a team-high 6.6 RPG and 2.4 APG to lead the Vaqueros on the glass and cap off the group of double-digit scorers for UTRGV so far this season. Trey Miller has 9.6 PPG with 2.7 RPG and a team-high 4.3 APG to lead UTRGV in assists so far this season. As a team, UTRGV is averaging 77.2 PPG on 44.1% shooting from the field, 32% from behind the arc, and 69.3% from the foul line this season.

Why the Texas-Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros will win

• Incarnate Word has lost 10 of its last 11 road night games against the Southland Conference.
• The home team has won each of Texas–Rio Grande Valley’s last five games.

Total Points Facts

• Each of Incarnate Word’s last six games against Conference opponents has produced a total of 140 or fewer points.
• Eighteen of Texas–Rio Grande Valley’s last 24 night games against non-AP-ranked opponents at UTRGV Fieldhouse have produced a total of 148+ points.

Incarnate Word vs. UTRGV Prediction

I’m going to take a shot at Incarnate Word here. I think that the Vaqueros might be the better team from a talent perspective, but UTRGV had really tailed off in the last month after a strong start to the year entering conference play and Incarnate Word’s been playing well, their struggles have simply come against the best teams in the Southland this season. I think that UTRGV being favored at home makes sense but I think Incarnate Word could flirt with the outright upset here. Give me the Cardinals and the points in this one.