| MATCHUP | North Alabama Lions | Florida Gulf Coast Eagles |
|---|---|---|
| Team Records | 9-20 | 14-17 |
| Where | UNF Arena, Jacksonville, FL | |
| When | Wednesday, March 4, 2026 | |
| Time | 02:30 PM EST | |
| TV | ESPN+ | |
North Alabama Lions Betting Preview
The Lions kicked off the season on a 5-9 run through their first 14 games, and things haven’t gotten much easier since then. North Alabama was able to win just two of the next 10 games, bating Bellarmine and Stetson. It’s been a 2-3 stretch since then with losses to Queens U, Lipscomb and West Georgia. That gives the Lions a 9-20 overall record this year so far.
In the Saturday game versus West Georgia, the Lions kicked off the game with a 30-25 deficit. North Alabama wasn’t able to come back in the second half thanks to a 45-38 disadvantage, eventually taking the loss on the road 75-63 as the game came to an end. Kevin de Kovachich led the team on 16 points with four rebounds and two steals in 36 minutes of work.
Florida Gulf Coast Eagles Betting Preview
Over on the Florida Gulf Coast side, they were sitting at 8-13 overall through their first 21 games back on January 23. The Eagles went on a 6-2 stretch over the next eight, beating North Alabama, Jacksonville, North Florida, Stetson, Jacksonville and Central Arkansas. After losses to North Florida and Stetson the Eagles are 14-17 overall in the books this season.
Matched up against Stetson over the weekend the Eagles were sitting in the locker room with a deficit 34-27. Florida Gulf Coast was outscored 44-36 the rest of the way and limped to a 78-63 loss on the road as the game came to a finish. Rahmir Barno was tops on 20 points iwht four assists and two rebounds while JR Konieczny added 17 points with five rebounds as well.
North Alabama vs Florida Gulf Coast Prediction
I’ll lean toward FGCU. The Eagles couldn’t handle a struggling Stetson team in a road loss last weekend though, shooting just 40.4 percent from the field with 55.8 percent surrendered on defense. Florida Gulf Coast was outmuscled on the boards 35-22 and had nine turnovers. The Eagles are still 4-2 in their last six games, but they’ve given up 71 or more points in all six of those as well.
Florida Gulf Coast was able to win both games between these teams this year, 72-55 on the road January 3 and 72-64 at home on January 29. In the most recent game the Eagles managed to shoot 41.7 percent from the field but made up for it with 90.9 percent (10-of-11) from the line. FGCU didn’t do very well in the paint though, posting a 36-16 deficit there alongside their 12 turnovers. There’s plenty to clean up in the tournament rematch.

