Ohio Bobcats vs Ball State Cardinals Prediction, 1/16/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Ohio Bobcats vs Ball State Cardinals

Date: Friday, January 16, 2026

Location: Worthen Arena in Muncie, IN

TV: ESPN+

Worthen Arena is the site where the Ball State Cardinals (4-13) will try to beat the Ohio Bobcats (10-8) on Friday.

The Ohio Bobcats stepped onto the hardwood against Toledo and ended up losing by a score of 101-85 in their last contest. Regarding fouls, the Bobcats ended up finishing with 16 while Toledo recorded 19 fouls. They made 7 of their 17 attempts from beyond the arc. Toledo shot 94.1% when shooting free throws by making 16 of their 17 shots. Moreover, Toledo grabbed 30 rebounds (10 offensive, 20 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Toledo earned 22 dimes and had 9 steals for the game. In relation to the defense, Ohio let their opponent shoot 61.9% from the field on 39 of 63 shooting. They also distributed 11 dimes in this game while forcing 9 turnovers and getting 5 steals. In regard to hauling in boards, they earned a total of 24 with 11 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Bobcats converted 12 of 19 tries for a percentage of 63.2%. Ohio ended the contest with a 50.0% FG percentage (32 of 64) and converted 9 out of their 24 three-point attempts.

Javan Simmons is one player who was a factor in this matchup. He finished the game shooting 61.5% from the field and totaled 1 assist. He was on the court for 30 minutes and grabbed 6 boards. He notched 21 points on 8 of 13 shooting.

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Ohio will enter this contest with a record of 10-8 for the year. They lose possession via turnover 12.3 times per game and as a group are committing 16.9 personal fouls per game. As a team, Ohio is pulling in 34.6 boards per game and has accumulated 253 assists for the campaign, which has them ranked 167th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Bobcats are hitting 30.7% on 3-pointers (125 of 407) and 67.8% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 78.4 pts per contest (149th in college hoops) while connecting on 47.6% from the field.

Defensively, the Bobcats are able to force 12.9 turnovers every game while drawing 19.3 fouls. They are currently ranked 255th in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 250 relinquished so far this season. The Bobcats defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 45.3% (497 of 1,097) and they relinquish 35.7 boards per contest as a team. They concede 34.8% from beyond the arc and they are 281st in D-1 in points per game from their opponents (77.2).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Ball State Cardinals took a loss by a score of 87-77 against Akron. The Cardinals recorded 22 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards totaling 27 in this game. They turned the ball over 10 times, while recording 6 steals in the game. Akron committed 15 fouls for this game which took the Cardinals to the charity stripe for 19 tries. They were able to bury 15 of the free throws for a percentage of 78.9%. With respect to shots from beyond the arc, Ball State knocked down 8 of their 25 tries (32.0%). In all, the Cardinals shot 27 for 56 from the field which gave them a percentage of 48.2%. The Cardinals permitted Akron to knock down 30 of their 63 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 47.6% for this contest. They shot 37.1% from beyond the perimeter via 13 of 35 and ended up going 14 of 16 from the charity stripe (87.5%). In reference to cleaning up the glass, Ball State allowed Akron to grab 29 in total (7 on the offensive glass).

Armoni Zeigler was important for the Cardinals for the game. He buried 11 of 18 for this game giving him a field goal percentage of 61.1%, and added 5 rebounds. He totaled 30 points in his 37 mins of playing time and had 1 assist for the contest.

Ball State has a win-loss mark of 4-13 on the season. As an offense, the Cardinals are hitting on 42.2% from the floor, which is ranked 321st in the country. Ball State has 1,156 points this season (68.0 per game) and they grab 31.9 rebounds per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 12.9 times per contest (277th in the nation) and they turn it over 10.9 times per game. The Cardinals have committed 15.8 fouls per game while shooting 69.2% from the free throw line.

The Cardinals on the defensive side of the court are 109th in Division 1 in points per game surrendered with 70.8. They are forcing their opponents into 13.4 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 45.5% from the floor (287th in D-1). The Ball State defense surrenders 35.1% on three-point shots (141 of 402) and their opposition knocks down 75.1% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 14.4 dimes and 36.1 rebounds per game, which is ranked 254th and 270th in those defensive categories.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Ball State

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