Ball State Cardinals vs Northern Illinois Huskies Prediction, 12/8/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Ball State Cardinals vs Northern Illinois Huskies

Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Location: NIU Convocation Center in DeKalb, IL

TV: ESPN3

Odds/Point Spread: Ball State (-6.5)

NIU Convocation Center is the site where and the Northern Illinois Huskies (0-3) will play the Ball State Cardinals (1-2) on Tuesday. Ball State opens this matchup as 6.5-point favorites. The over/under has been set at 133.5.

Ball State will enter this matchup with a win-loss mark of 1-2 so far this year. They are turning it over 10.7 times per game and as a unit are committing 18.7 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Ball State is pulling down 33.7 boards per game and has totaled 27 assists on the campaign, which ranks 245th in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Cardinals are shooting 24.6% on shots beyond the perimeter (15 of 61) and 66.2% from the free throw line. They are averaging 68.7 points per contest (210th in Division 1) while shooting 40.7% from the field. When they are on defense, the Cardinals are able to force 11.7 turnovers per game and they draw 21.7 fouls. The Cardinals defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 46.6% (83 of 178) and they surrender 39.3 rebounds per game as a team. They are ranked 122nd in college basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 37 relinquished this year. They are conceding 27.9% on shots from downtown and they are ranked 207th in the nation in PPG allowed (74.7).

The Ball State Cardinals took the court against the UIC Flames and walked away with a win by a score of 68-66 in their last game. Ball State wrapped up the contest having earned a 38.5% FG percentage (20 of 52) and made 2 out of their 18 three-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Cardinals made 26 of their 34 shots for a percentage of 76.5%. With regard to hauling in boards, they collected a total of 35 with 8 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 9 dimes for this contest in addition to having 5 steals and 2 blocks. With respect to defense, Ball State allowed the other team to go 38.5% from the field on 20 of 52. UIC totaled 9 dimes and 2 steals in the matchup. Moreover, the Flames grabbed 32 rebounds (5 offensive, 27 defensive) and added 2 rejections. UIC ended up shooting 71.4% from the free throw line by knocking down 15 of 21 shots. They also converted 5 of 18 attempts from beyond the arc.

Ishmael El-Amin is a player who saw a lot of court time in this matchup. He accumulated 22 points on 5 out of 14 shooting. He was on the court for 34 mins and grabbed 6 boards. El-Amin ended up shooting 35.7% from the field and dished out 4 assists. Another guy that came through in the game for the Cardinals was K.J. Walton. He totaled 3 boards and accounted for 3 dimes. He finished the contest at 61.5% from the floor for this game by going 8-of-13 (25 points). When the game finished, Walton played for 30 min.

Northern Illinois has a record of 0-3 on the year. Northern Illinois has totaled 173 points for the campaign (57.7 per game) and they grab 34.3 rebounds per contest. The Huskies are committing 16.7 personal fouls per contest and they shoot 66.0% from the free throw line. As an offensive team, the Huskies are connecting on 39.5% from the field, which ranks them 302nd in college hoops. They are dishing out assists 10.7 times per contest (252nd in D-1) and they turn it over 16.3 times per game. The Huskies defensively are ranked 221st in college hoops in points given up per game with 75.7. They have allowed 20.0 assists and 33.3 rebounds per contest, ranking them 291st and 90th in the country. The Northern Illinois defense gives up 40.7% on 3-pointers (33 of 81) and their opponents are connecting on 63.0% of their shots from the charity stripe. They are forcing their opponents into 9.7 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.8% from the floor (251st in college basketball).

When they last stepped on the court, the Northern Illinois Huskies went home defeated by a final of 89-59 against the Pittsburgh Panthers. The Huskies corralled 21 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 29 for the game. They also blocked 6 shots while getting 2 steals in the game. The Panthers committed 19 fouls in the matchup which got the Huskies to the charity stripe for 16 shots. They were able to knock down 12 of them for a rate of 75.0%. In relation to three-point shots, Northern Illinois made 7 of 18 attempts (38.9%). When this game wrapped up, the Huskies went 20 out of 53 from the floor which gave them a rate of 37.7%. The Huskies allowed the Panthers to make 30 of 60 tries from the floor which left them shooting 50.0% for the matchup. They went 48.3% from 3-point land by going 14 out of 29 and ended up going 15 out of 27 from the charity stripe (55.6%). In relation to cleaning up the glass, Northern Illinois permitted Pittsburgh to grab 36 overall (12 offensive).

Trendon Hankerson ended up having an impact for the Huskies for this game. He knocked down 7 out of 13 for the game for a field goal rate of 53.8%, which got him 18 points. Hankerson collected 4 boards in his 34 mins and tallied 3 dimes for the contest. An additional guy who saw a lot of minutes for Northern Illinois was Darius Beane. He walked away with 11 points in 20 minutes played by way of 4 of 8 from the floor in this matchup. Beane wrapped this one up going 50.0% from the floor as well as earning 2 dimes and 2 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Ball State (-6.5)

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