North Florida vs Central Arkansas Prediction 2/15/25 College Basketball Picks

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

The North Florida Ospreys’ recent form and player performance

The Central Arkansas Bears’ recent form and player performance 

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the North Florida Ospreys

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Central Arkansas Bears

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

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

North Florida Ospreys Betting Preview

The Ospreys had a rough run going in December and January but otherwise, they’ve looked pretty good in the record column this year. North Florida opened on a 7-4 run with victories over South Carolina, Charleston Southern, Georgia Tech, Edward Waters, SIU Edwardsville, Warner U, and UNC Greensboro. After losses to UNC Asheville, Florida, Austin Peay, Lipscomb, and Eastern Kentucky in succession over the next five, the Ospreys hit a 6-3 stretch. Those wins came courtesy of Bellarmine, Central Arkansas, Queens U, Stetson, Jacksonville, and Bellarmine. That would give North Florida a 13-12 overall run through the first 25 games. 

In their matchup with North Alabama on Thursday, the Ospreys took a 39-32 deficit into the second half. North Florida was outscored 44-38 the rest of the way and lost 83-70 in the end. Tops in scoring was Nate Literals with 20 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Jasai Miles added 13 points with five rebounds and four assists, while Josh Harris had 11 points and five rebounds. Liam Murphy added 11 points and three boards off the bench as well. 

Central Arkansas Bears Betting Preview

Over on the Central Arkansas side, they’ve struggled for most of the year when it comes to finding victories. The Bears went 5-10 in their first 15 games of the season, taking losses to BYU, Utah, Western Illinois, Southeast Missouri State, Georgia Tech, Little Rock, AR-Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Eastern Kentucky in that time. The next 10 games were a 1-9 run with a lone win over West Georgia. Otherwise, it was losses to Stetson, Florida Gulf Coast, North Florida, Jacksonville, Austin Peay, Lipscomb, North Alabama, Queens U, and Austin Peay again. The result was a 6-19 overall run through the Bears’ first 25 games this year. 

Matched up against Jacksonville in their Thursday outing, the Bears were down by five points at the break. Central Arkansas didn’t end up getting any closer than that on a 45-35 second half and lost the game 77-62 in the end. Nehemiah Turner led the team with 18 points, seven boards, and six assists. Ben Fox added 15 points in 33 minutes as well. 

Why the Central Arkansas Bears will win

• North Florida has lost each of its last eight day games against Conference opponents.
• Central Arkansas has won three of its last four day games at Farris Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the North Florida Ospreys will win

• Central Arkansas has lost 10 of its last 11 games against the ASUN Conference.

North Florida vs Central Arkansas Prediction 

I’m going to stay with North Florida. On Thursday the Ospreys didn’t really play all that well against a decent North Alabama team though, posting just 40.3 percent shooting with a 53-30 rebounding deficit. If there’s good news it’s that North Florida was careful with the ball on only four turnovers. The Ospreys have now lost consecutive games, but they’ve also scored 70 or more points in 11 straight outings. 

These teams last met up back on January 16 at UNF Arena. That one was a 92-80 win at home for North Florida. The Ospreys played quite well overall on 51.5 percent shooting with 37 rebounds and 23 team assists alongside just nine turnovers. The Bears didn’t shoot terribly themselves (42.9 percent) but couldn’t keep pace on the scoreboard—thanks in part to 13 turnovers for 18 Ospreys points. North Florida won’t be able to rely on mistakes this time, but I think they’ve still got the advantage overall.