Northern Illinois Huskies vs Eastern Michigan Eagles Prediction, 1/4/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northern Illinois Huskies vs Eastern Michigan Eagles

Date: Saturday, January 4, 2025

Location: George Gervin GameAbove Center in Ypsilanti, MI

TV: ESPN+

George Gervin GameAbove Center is where the Eastern Michigan Eagles (6-6) will try to defeat the Northern Illinois Huskies (4-8) on Saturday.

The Northern Illinois Huskies took the court against East-West and earned the victory with a final of 117-50 in their last contest. When talking about personal fouls, the Huskies ended up with 21 while East-West recorded 21 personal fouls. They also converted 5 of 24 attempts from 3-point range. East-West shot 65.2% from the charity stripe by making 15 of 23 attempts. Additionally, East-West pulled down 27 rebounds (4 offensive, 23 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. East-West earned 6 assists and had 5 steals in this matchup. With regard to defending, Northern Illinois let their opponent shoot 26.3% from the field on 15 of 57 shooting. They also recorded 20 dimes in the game while forcing the other team into 22 turnovers and getting 16 steals. Regarding hauling in rebounds, they collected a total of 58 with 19 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Huskies converted 17 of 24 attempts for a rate of 70.8%. Northern Illinois wrapped up the game having earned a 50.0% FG percentage (45 of 90) and buried 10 out of their 29 shots from 3-point land.

Quaran McPherson is someone who came through for this contest. He walked away from this one shooting 63.6% from the floor and earned 1 assist. He was on the court for 20 mins and also totaled 11 rebounds. He ended up scoring 25 points on 7 of 11 shooting.

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Northern Illinois will enter this matchup with a mark of 4-8 so far this year. They are turning it over 11.4 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 19.7 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Northern Illinois is pulling in 35.0 rebounds per contest and has earned 156 assists for the season, which ranks 314th in college in terms of passing the ball. The Huskies are shooting 31.5% from downtown (105 of 333) and 72.6% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 72.8 points per game (256th in the country) while connecting on 41.6% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Huskies have forced 14.2 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.9 fouls. They are giving up 36.9% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 266th in the nation in opponents PPG (74.4). The Huskies are giving up a shooting percentage of 43.2% (297 of 687) and they surrender 40.5 rebounds per game as a team. They currently rank 79th in Division 1 in giving up assists with 151 conceded this year.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Eastern Michigan Eagles took a loss by a score of 86-64 when they faced Davidson. In reference to cleaning the glass, Eastern Michigan permitted Davidson to collect 34 overall (6 offensive). They finished 50.0% from three-point range by going 12 out of 24 and walked away from this one shooting 22 out of 31 at the free throw line (71.0%). The Eagles permitted Davidson to make 26 of 49 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 53.1% in this game. When the final whistle blew, the Eagles finished the game shooting 23 for 57 from the floor which gave them a rate of 40.4%. When talking about shots from distance, Eastern Michigan made 9 out of 27 tries (33.3%). They were able to convert 9 of the free throws for a percentage of 75.0%. Davidson was called for 17 personal fouls in the game which took the Eagles to the charity stripe for 12 shots. They coughed it up 9 times, while recording 4 steals in this contest. The Eagles pulled down 18 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive rebounds for a total of 22 in the matchup.

Da'Sean Nelson ended up being a major contributor for the Eagles for this contest. He totaled 16 points in his 33 mins of playing time and had 1 assist for the contest. He made 5 of 9 for this game for a field goal rate of 55.6%, and had 4 rebounds.

Eastern Michigan has a record of 6-6 on the season. When it comes to executing on offense, the Eagles are hitting on 44.4% from the floor, which has them ranked 221st in college hoops. Eastern Michigan has accounted for 847 pts so far this season (70.6 per contest) and they collect 32.3 boards per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 13.2 times per game (246th in college) and they are turning it over 12.8 times per contest. The Eagles commit 17.0 personal fouls per contest and they go 67.8% from the free throw line.

The Eastern Michigan defense surrenders 37.5% on shots from 3-point land (102 of 272) and opponents are knocking down 73.0% of their shots from the charity stripe. They give up 14.2 assists and 34.8 rebounds per contest, which is 264th and 201st in those categories on the defensive end. The Eagles on defense are ranked 294th in college hoops in PPG given up with 75.8. They are forcing their opponents into 12.9 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 46.9% from the floor (335th in college).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Northern Illinois

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