Western Michigan Broncos vs Ball State Cardinals Prediction, 1/28/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Western Michigan Broncos vs Ball State Cardinals

Date: Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Location: Worthen Arena in Muncie, IN

TV: ESPN+

The Western Michigan Broncos (5-14) are en route to Worthen Arena on Tuesday where they will go up against the Ball State Cardinals (9-10).

The Western Michigan Broncos faced off with Central Michigan and took a loss by a score of 73-52 in their last game. When talking about fouls, the Broncos ended up finishing with 17 and Central Michigan accumulated 13 fouls. They knocked down 6 of their 21 attempts from downtown. Central Michigan walked away from this one shooting 68.2% from the charity stripe by knocking down 15 of 22 attempts. Moreover, Central Michigan collected 40 rebounds (11 offensive, 29 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Central Michigan earned 12 assists and had 4 steals in this contest. When it comes to defending, Western Michigan allowed their opponent to shoot 43.3% from the field on 26 of 60 shooting. They also dished out 9 dimes for this game in addition to creating 4 turnovers and earning 3 steals. When it comes to pulling down rebounds, they compiled 33 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. From the charity stripe, the Broncos buried 9 of their 13 attempts for a rate of 69.2%. Western Michigan wrapped up the game having earned a 32.2% FG percentage (19 out of 59) and made 5 out of their 24 three-point attempts.

Markhi Strickland is a guy who was a factor in this contest. He finished the game at 63.6% from the floor but finished the game without a dime. He was on the hardwood for 34 minutes and pulled down 6 boards. He left the arena with 14 points on 7 out of 11 shooting.

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Western Michigan enters this one with a record of 5-14 on the season. They currently have an average of 71.5 pts per contest (256th in the nation) while connecting on 42.4% from the field. The Broncos are shooting 27.2% from downtown (100 of 368) and 66.8% from the free throw line. As a team, Western Michigan is collecting 38.7 rebounds per contest and has totaled 238 assists on the year, which is 314th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They cough up possession 11.1 times per game and as a group they are committing 17.9 fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Broncos have forced 10.8 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 17.4 personal fouls. They currently rank 264th in college in giving up assists to the opposition with 287 conceded this year. The Broncos are giving up a FG percentage of 46.4% (514 of 1,108) and they concede 34.0 boards per contest as a team. They are giving up 34.9% on shots from distance and they are 302nd in college hoops in points per game from their opponents (76.3).

For their last game, the Ball State Cardinals took a defeat with a final score of 76-66 when they faced Northern Illinois. The Cardinals were able to collect 24 defensive boards and 4 offensive boards for a total of 28 in this contest. They also coughed up the ball 4 times, while getting 4 steals in the matchup. Northern Illinois committed 21 fouls in this game which took the Cardinals to the charity stripe for 28 shots. They were able to bury 13 of the free throws for a rate of 46.4%. Pertaining to shooting from 3-point land, Ball State converted 9 out of 25 tries (36.0%). Overall, the Cardinals shot 22 for 57 from the field which gave them a rate of 38.6%. The Cardinals allowed Northern Illinois to knock down 24 out of their 55 tries from the floor which had them at 43.6% for the matchup. They finished 48.1% from three-point range by shooting 13 out of 27 and finished the contest at 15 out of 26 from the charity stripe (57.7%). When talking about cleaning the glass, Ball State permitted Northern Illinois to grab 37 overall (7 on the offensive side).

Ethan Brittain-Watts pitched in for the Cardinals in the matchup. He buried 6 of 8 in the matchup for a rate of 75.0%, and had 2 rebounds. He scored 16 points in his 33 minutes on the hardwood and added 5 dimes in the matchup.

Ball State has a mark of 9-10 on the season. In terms of offensive execution, the Cardinals are hitting on 46.0% from the floor, which is ranked 122nd in college. Ball State has earned 1,438 points for the year (75.7 per contest) and they collect 35.6 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 13.5 times per game (208th in the nation) and they turn the ball over 12.1 times per contest. The Cardinals are committing 16.7 fouls every game and they shoot 68.8% from the charity stripe.

The Cardinals defensively are ranked 243rd in college in points allowed per contest with 73.5. They are able to force 10.2 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 43.2% from the floor (171st in college). The Ball State defense allows 32.5% on shots from behind the 3-point line (148 of 456) and their opponents are converting on 71.2% of their foul shots. They have conceded 13.2 dimes and 34.7 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 191st and 202nd in those categories.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Western Michigan

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