Check out our free Ball State vs Northern Illinois pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Dekalb. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.

Ball State vs Northern Illinois Pick & Preview: Saturday, January 28th Betting Odds

Cardinals vs Huskies Matchup at a Glance

  • Sport: NCAAB
  • Teams: Ball State Cardinals at Northern Illinois Huskies
  • Where: Dekalb at NIU Convocation Center
  • Date: Saturday, January 28th
  • Betting Odds: Ball State -3.5, BALLST -176 | NILL +142 O/U 144.0

Cardinals Preview:

Heading into today’s matchup vs Northern Illinois, the Ball State Cardinals will be taking the floor for the 21st time this season and have an overall record of 13-7. So far, the Cardinals have played 10 games on the road, with a record of 5-5. This season, Ball State has been favored to win in 10 games, sitting with a mark of 9-1. For today’s contest, Ball State has a betting line set -3.5 points in their favor.

Ball State will be counting on another strong performance from the team’s leading scorer Jarron Coleman who is averaging 14.8 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 48.3% of his field goal attempts on his way to averaging 13.26 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%.

Huskies Preview:

Heading into today’s matchup vs Ball State, the Northern Illinois Huskies will be taking the floor for the 21st time this season and have an overall record of 8-12. So far this season, Northern Illinois has played 6 games at home, sitting with a record of 3-3. For the season, Northern Illinois has been the underdog in 13 games, sitting with a mark of 4-9. Currently, the oddsmakers have the lines set with the Huskies being +3.5 point underdogs.

Northern Illinois will be counting on another strong performance from the team’s leading scorer David Coit who is averaging 15.65 points per game for the Huskies. Coit 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 Huskies’ offensive game plan is the play of Keshawn Williams who has hit 47.2% of his field goal attempts on his way to averaging 17.87 points per game.

Offensive production has been hard to come by for Northern Illinois this season, as they are currently ranked 400th in college basketball at 64.1 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 Huskies’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 31.8%, placing them 375th in the NCAA.

Free Spread Prediction: Northern Illinois Huskies +3.5

Our betting model for this contest between the Northern Illinois Huskies and the Ball State Cardinals has identified Northern Illinois at +3.5 as today’s best bet. Although the Huskies are the betting underdogs, we like how they have been performing vs the spread at home. Over the school’s last 10 home games, they have a record of 6-4 vs the spread. Although Ball State has shot well from behind the arc this season, look for the Huskies’ defense to put the clamps down with their 3-point defense. Our recommendation is to jump on Northern Illinois to cover as +3.5 point home underdogs.