Ball State Cardinals vs Central Michigan Chippewas Prediction, 1/20/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Ball State Cardinals vs Central Michigan Chippewas

Date: Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Location: McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant, MI

TV: ESPN+

The Central Michigan Chippewas (5-13) are welcoming the Ball State Cardinals (5-13) at McGuirk Arena on Tuesday.

The Ball State Cardinals played Ohio and went home with a win by a final score of 76-71 in their last contest. In reference to fouls, the Cardinals ended up walking away with 17 and Ohio recorded 18 fouls. They made 4 out of their 16 tries from beyond the perimeter. Ohio walked away from this one shooting 78.9% at the charity stripe by converting 15 of 19 attempts. Moreover, Ohio pulled down 25 rebounds (5 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Ohio dished out 7 assists and had 3 steals for this game. Pertaining to defending, Ball State let their opponent shoot 48.1% from the field on 26 out of 54 shooting. They also dished out 11 dimes for the matchup while forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and having 8 steals. Regarding pulling down rebounds, they earned 26 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. When they shot from the free throw line, the Cardinals made 25 of their 31 shots for a rate of 80.6%. Ball State walked away from the contest with a 43.1% field goal percentage (22 of 51) and buried 7 of their 19 shots from downtown.

Armoni Zeigler is one guy who played a role in this contest. He finished the contest at 50.0% from the field and recorded 4 assists. He played 38 mins played and pulled down 7 rebounds. He ended up with 28 points on 7 of 14 shooting.

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Ball State heads into this game with a win-loss mark of 5-13 for the season. They have an average of 68.4 points per outing (332nd in D-1) while shooting 42.2% from the floor. The Cardinals are shooting 31.4% on shots from beyond the arc (127 of 405) and 70.3% from the charity stripe. As a team, Ball State is collecting 31.8 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 231 dimes for the season, which is 289th in D-1 in terms of passing. They are losing possession via turnover 10.9 times per contest and as a squad are committing 15.8 fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Cardinals are able to force 13.3 turnovers per game while drawing 16.0 personal fouls. They relinquish 34.7% on 3-point shots and they rank 105th in college in points per game from their opponents (70.8). The Cardinals defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 45.7% (452 of 990) and they relinquish 35.8 rebounds per game as a team. They rank 215th in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 252 relinquished for the season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Central Michigan Chippewas went home defeated by a final of 100-61 when they played Miami. In relation to team rebounding, Central Michigan allowed Miami to grab 32 in total (5 on the offensive side). They finished 47.8% from distance by shooting 11 out of 23 and finished the contest at 25 out of 28 from the charity stripe (89.3%). The Chippewas allowed Miami to knock down 32 out of 53 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 60.4% for this contest. When this game wrapped up, the Chippewas finished the game shooting 24 out of 59 from the field which had them shooting 40.7%. In regard to three-point shots, Central Michigan made 5 of 19 attempts (26.3%). They were able to make 8 of the free throw tries for a rate of 66.7%. Miami was called for 16 fouls in this matchup which took the Chippewas to the free throw line for 12 tries. They also turned it over 15 times, while recording 4 steals for the game. The Chippewas pulled down 16 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards for a total of 26 for the contest.

Nathan Claerbaut pitched in for the Chippewas in this game. He racked up 16 points in his 28 mins of playing time and had 2 assists for this game. He made 8 out of 13 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 61.5%, and had 3 rebounds.

Central Michigan has a mark of 5-13 on the campaign. In terms of offensive execution, the Chippewas are shooting 45.0% from the floor, which ranks them 207th in Division 1. Central Michigan has scored 1,298 pts so far this year (72.1 per game) and they grab 33.0 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 15.1 times per game (123rd in Division 1) and they are turning it over 12.6 times per game. The Chippewas are responsible for committing 18.2 personal fouls every game and they shoot 72.0% from the free throw line.

The Chippewas on the defensive side of the court are 319th in college hoops in points given up per game with 79.9. They have forced 12.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 46.9% from the field (325th in college hoops). The Central Michigan defense concedes 34.6% on three-point shots (151 of 436) and their opposition makes 68.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They have conceded 17.1 assists and 37.2 rebounds per contest, which ranks 352nd and 313th in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Ball State

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