Check out our free Ball State vs Central Michigan pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Mount Pleasant. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.
Ball State vs Central Michigan Pick & Preview: Tuesday, February 7th Betting Odds
Cardinals vs Chippewas Matchup at a Glance
- Sport: NCAAB
- Teams: Ball State Cardinals at Central Michigan Chippewas
- Where: Mount Pleasant at McGuirk Arena
- Date: Tuesday, February 7th
- Betting Odds: Ball State -7, BALLST -317 | CMICH +248 O/U 139.5
Cardinals Preview:
The Ball State Cardinals head into today’s game in what will be their 24th game of the season, posting a record of 16-7. On the road, the Cardinals will be playing their 12th game of the season, having gone 7-5. This season, Ball State has been favored to win in 13 games, sitting with a mark of 12-1. For today’s contest, Ball State has a betting line set -7 points in their favor.
Ball State will be counting on another strong performance from the team’s leading scorer Jarron Coleman who is averaging 15.35 points per game for the Cardinals. Coleman is also important to the team’s ability to score on the perimeter. So far, he leads the team in 3-point shots made. Also key to the Cardinals’ offensive game plan is the play of Jaylin Sellers who has hit 49.7% of his field goal attempts on his way to averaging 13.14 points per game.
On offense, Ball State comes into the game looking to control the pace of play, as they are just 275th in possessions per game. Even with their preference to slow the game down, the Cardinals’ are scoring at a rate similar to the NCAA average at 74.3 points per game. So far, 42.19% of their shots have come from beyond the arc, where they have connected at a rate of 35.7%.
Chippewas Preview:
The Central Michigan Chippewas head into today’s game in what will be their 24th game of the season, posting a record of 8-15. Currently, the Chippewas have been the home team 12 times, sitting with a record of 7-5. So far, the Chippewas have been the underdog 17 times, going 3-14 straight up. Heading into today’s contest, they are the +7 underdogs on the spread.
Brian Taylor comes into today’s game as the Chippewas’ leading scorer at 14.26 points per contest. Not only has Taylor been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is Central Michigan’s top rebounder at 6.26 boards per contest. Behind Taylor, the team has benefited from the strong play of Jesse Zarzuela, who is second on the team in scoring at 16.29 points per game. Overall, he has hit 39.9% of his shots and is adding 2.76 boards per game.
Offensive production has been hard to come by for Central Michigan this season, as they are currently ranked 365th in college basketball at 65.9 points per game. A major reason for low scoring totals is the fact that they have played at a below average pace, and have struggled to knock down outside shots. As a team, the Chippewas’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 34.1%, placing them 240th in the NCAA.
Free Spread Prediction: Central Michigan Chippewas +7
Heading into this matchup between the Ball State Cardinals and Central Michigan Chippewas we have a strong lean on taking the points with Central Michigan at +7. Both team’s are going to come into this game looking to get up looks from outside, as they are both average team’s in terms of 3-pointers made per game. Look for Central Michigan to benefit from facing another squad looking to turn this into a 3-point shooting contest. When looking at the line, we see tremendous value in taking the Central Michigan Chippewas at +7. Go ahead and lock this bet in before tip-off.
