Ball State Cardinals vs Northern Illinois Huskies Prediction, 2/28/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Ball State Cardinals vs Northern Illinois Huskies

Date: Saturday, February 28, 2026

Location: NIU Convocation Center in Dekalb, IL

TV: ESPN+

NIU Convocation Center is where the Northern Illinois Huskies (9-18) will try to beat the Ball State Cardinals (9-19) on Saturday.

The Ball State Cardinals faced off with UMass and walked away with a win by a score of 74-73 in their last contest. Ball State walked away from the game having earned a 35.7% field goal percentage (25 out of 70) and buried 6 out of their 28 three-point shots. At the free throw line, the Cardinals converted 18 of 22 attempts for a rate of 81.8%. In relation to pulling down rebounds, they compiled 36 with 12 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 12 assists in this contest while forcing the opposition into 12 turnovers and earning 6 steals. Pertaining to defending, Ball State allowed their opponent to shoot 37.7% from the field on 26 of 69 shooting. UMass dished out 14 dimes and had 4 steals in this matchup. Additionally, UMass grabbed 45 boards (14 offensive, 31 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. UMass finished the game at 81.3% when shooting free throws by knocking down 13 of their 16 attempts. They made 8 out of their 27 shots from beyond the arc. With respect to fouls, the Cardinals left the arena with 14 and UMass accumulated 21 fouls.

Davion Hill is someone who played a role for this game. He ended up finishing with 26 points on 7 out of 20 shooting. He was on the court for 31 mins played and collected 4 rebounds. He finished the game shooting 35.0% from the floor and earned 2 assists.

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Ball State comes into this game with a record of 9-19 so far this year. They have an average of 66.3 points per contest (348th in Division 1) while connecting on 40.9% from the field. The Cardinals are hitting 30.7% on shots from 3-point land (193 of 628) and 69.9% from the charity stripe. As a team, Ball State is collecting 32.1 boards per game and has 337 assists so far this year, which is 325th in college hoops in terms of passing. They turn it over 10.8 times per contest and as a squad are committing 15.6 fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Cardinals are forcing 12.9 turnovers per contest and they draw 15.9 fouls. They give up 33.9% on shots from distance and they are ranked 84th in college in points per game allowed (70.4). The Cardinals defense is allowing a FG percentage of 44.9% (690 of 1,536) and they concede 36.3 boards per game as a unit. They rank 157th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 375 surrendered for the year.

The last time they took the court, the Northern Illinois Huskies went home defeated by a final of 79-69 when they faced Toledo. Regarding rebounds, Northern Illinois permitted Toledo to get 32 overall (10 on the offensive side). They finished shooting 41.2% from beyond the perimeter by connecting on 7 out of 17 and finished the game at 12 out of 14 at the free throw line (85.7%). The Huskies allowed Toledo to knock down 30 of 64 tries from the floor which left them shooting 46.9% in the matchup. When the final whistle blew, the Huskies walked away from this one shooting 27 for 57 from the field which had them sitting at 47.4%. In the matter of 3-point shots, Northern Illinois made 5 of 23 tries (21.7%). They were able to bury 10 of those for a percentage of 62.5%. Toledo was called for 17 personal fouls in this game which took the Huskies to the free throw line for a total of 16 tries. They coughed it up 10 times, while getting 4 steals for the contest. The Huskies were able to corral 23 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive boards for a total of 31 for the matchup.

Gianni Cobb pitched in for the Huskies in this game. He tallied 17 points in his 39 mins of playing time and had 5 dimes in this contest. He made 6 out of 14 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 42.9%, and had 6 rebounds.

Northern Illinois has a win-loss record of 9-18 on the campaign. On the offensive side of the ball, the Huskies are shooting 42.2% from the floor, which has them ranked 322nd in college. Northern Illinois has accounted for 1,912 points for the season (70.8 per game) and they average 35.4 rebounds per contest. They are assisting teammates 13.1 times per game (244th in college) and they are turning it over 15.0 times per game. The Huskies have committed 18.6 personal fouls every game while shooting 66.1% from the charity stripe.

The Huskies defensively are ranked 248th in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 76.3. They are able to force 11.9 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 47.6% from the field (336th in D-1). The Northern Illinois defense gives up 32.8% on three-point shots (189 of 576) and their opponents are connecting on 72.2% of their foul shots. They have conceded 14.1 dimes and 33.2 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 240th and 103rd in D-1.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Ball State

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