Chicago State Cougars vs Northwestern Wildcats Prediction, 12/5/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Chicago State Cougars vs Northwestern Wildcats

Date: Saturday, December 5, 2020

Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, IL

TV: Big Ten Network

Odds/Point Spread: Chicago State (+34.5)

The Northwestern Wildcats (1-0) play the Chicago State Cougars (0-4) at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Saturday. Northwestern opens this matchup as 34.5-point favorites. The O/U is set at 139.5.

Chicago State enters this game with a win-loss mark of 0-4 so far this year. The Cougars are connecting on 24.4% on shots from 3-point land (20 of 82) and 66.1% from the free throw line. They average 49.8 pts per contest (287th in the nation) while going 33.0% from the field. They turn it over 17.0 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 22.8 fouls per contest. As a unit, Chicago State is pulling in 25.3 boards per contest and has 35 dimes so far this season, which ranks 148th in the country in terms of passing. On the defensive end, the Cougars are forcing their opponents into 13.0 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 16.3 fouls. They are 275th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 62 surrendered on the season. The Cougars defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 52.6% (121 of 230) and they concede 40.8 rebounds per contest as a group. They are giving up 38.0% on shots from beyond the arc and they rank 258th in D-1 in points per game allowed (83.3).

The Chicago State Cougars played the Eastern Illinois Panthers and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 78-56 in their last contest. Chicago State finished the contest with a 38.5% FG percentage (20 out of 52) and buried 8 of their 21 shots from distance. From the free throw line, the Cougars knocked down 8 of their 13 attempts for a rate of 61.5%. Regarding hauling in boards, they collected 27 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 12 assists in the game as well as having 5 steals and 2 rejections. Pertaining to the defense, Chicago State let their opponent shoot 38.5% from the floor on 20 of 52. Eastern Illinois doled out 11 dimes and 12 steals in the matchup. Moreover, the Panthers collected 36 rebounds (11 offensive, 25 defensive) and earned 2 rejections. Eastern Illinois ended up shooting 68.8% at the charity stripe by converting 11 of 16 shots. They buried 5 out of their 19 shots from distance.

Isaiah Lewis is one guy who saw a lot of action in this game. He ended up with 11 points on 4 out of 10 shooting. He played 33 mins and also collected 2 rebounds. Lewis went 40.0% from the floor and also distributed 2 assists. An additional guy that saw a lot of court time in the matchup for the Cougars was Aaris-Monte Bonds. He collected 8 rebounds and also accounted for 3 dimes. He went 57.1% from the field in this contest by shooting 4-of-7 (10 points). Overall, Bonds was on the hardwood for 29 min.

Northwestern has a win-loss mark of 1-0 on the year. The Wildcats commit 22 fouls every game while shooting 60.9% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 25 times per game (6th in college basketball) and they cough up possession 11 times per game. Northwestern has earned 92 pts on the campaign and they average 50 boards per game. As an offensive unit, the Wildcats are connecting on 51.6% from the field, which is ranked 97th in the nation. The Wildcats on the defensive end are ranked 5th in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 49. They are forcing their opponents into 10 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 26.8% from the field (1st in the country). The Northwestern defense gives up 12.5% on three-point shots (2 of 16) and opponents are converting on 65.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They have conceded 7 assists and 30 rebounds on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 18th and 34th in those categories.

In their last game, the Northwestern Wildcats went home victorious with a score of 92-49 when they faced the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions. The Wildcats recorded 40 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds totaling 46 in this contest. They also blocked 5 shots while getting 3 steals for this game. The Golden Lions were called for 18 fouls in the game which took the Wildcats to the free throw line for a total of 23 tries. They were able to bury 14 of those for a percentage of 60.9%. Concerning shots from downtown, Northwestern knocked down 14 out of their 29 tries (48.3%). At the conclusion of this game, the Wildcats ended up shooting 32 for 62 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 51.6%. The Wildcats allowed the Golden Lions to bury 15 of 56 attempts from the field which left them shooting 26.8% in this game. They finished 12.5% from three-point range by connecting on 2 of 16 and ended up shooting 17 out of 26 at the free throw line (65.4%). In regard to rebounding, Northwestern permitted Arkansas-Pine Bluff to collect 24 overall (3 on the offensive glass).

Miller Kopp played big minutes for the Wildcats for this contest. He knocked down 5 out of 10 for the contest for a field goal rate of 50.0%, which earned him 18 points. Kopp had 2 rebounds in his 27 minutes and added 3 assists in the matchup. Another guy that played a role for Northwestern was Pete Nance. He racked up 11 points in 26 minutes played by way of 5 of 11 shooting in this game. Nance wrapped this one up going 45.5% from the floor as well as contributing 2 assists and 7 rebounds.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Chicago State (+34.5)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here