Central Michigan Chippewas vs Western Michigan Broncos Prediction, 12/18/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Central Michigan Chippewas vs Western Michigan Broncos

Date: Friday, December 18, 2020

Location: University Arena (MI) in Kalamazoo, MI

TV: ESPN3

Odds/Point Spread: Central Michigan (+1)

The Central Michigan Chippewas (3-3) head to University Arena (MI) on Friday where they'll take on the Western Michigan Broncos (1-4). Western Michigan opens this matchup as 1-point favorites. The O/U opens at 142.5.

Central Michigan steps onto the court with a win-loss record of 3-3 so far this season. They currently have an average of 79.2 pts per contest (84th in college hoops) while shooting 45.3% from the field. The Chippewas are shooting 37.4% on shots from 3-point land (40 of 107) and 64.5% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Central Michigan is collecting 37.0 boards per game and is sitting with 72 dimes this year, which has them ranked 158th in the nation in terms of passing. They are turning it over 13.5 times per contest and as a basketball team they commit 18.7 fouls per contest. When they are on defense, the Chippewas are able to force 17.0 turnovers per game while drawing 20.0 fouls. They currently rank 291st in college hoops in giving up assists with 96 conceded for the year. The Chippewas defensively are allowing a shooting percentage of 43.6% (164 of 376) and they surrender 39.0 boards per game as a squad. They are conceding 33.3% on three-point shots while they are 259th in the country in PPG allowed (75.5).

The Central Michigan Chippewas played the St. Francis Fighting Saints and went home with a win by a final score of 91-39 in their last contest. Central Michigan walked away from the game with a 52.2% field goal percentage (36 out of 69) and converted 6 out of their 16 shots from 3-point land. At the free throw line, the Chippewas buried 13 of 25 attempts for a rate of 52.0%. When discussing pulling down boards, they collected 44 with 11 of them being offensive. They also dished out 14 assists in the game while earning 21 steals and 4 blocks. With respect to defending, Central Michigan allowed 52.2% from the field on 36 of 69. St. Francis Illinois distributed 7 assists and 6 steals for the game. Additionally, the Fighting Saints snagged 38 rebounds (16 offensive, 22 defensive) and added 4 blocks. St. Francis Illinois finished the game shooting 58.3% at the free throw line by making 7 of 12 tries. They also buried 2 of their 18 shots from 3-point range.

Travon Broadway is one guy who came through for this game. He walked away with 9 points on 4 of 8 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 22 mins and also totaled 6 rebounds. Broadway ended up going 50.0% from the floor and earned 3 dimes. One more player that saw the court a lot in the game for the Chippewas was Meikkel Murray. He pulled down 8 rebounds and also totaled 2 dimes. He walked away from this one shooting 60.0% from the field for the matchup by shooting 6-of-10 (15 points). At the conclusion of this game, Murray saw the court for 20 minutes.

Western Michigan has a win-loss mark of 1-4 for the campaign. When it comes to executing on offense, the Broncos are connecting on 41.8% from the floor, which is ranked 278th in the nation. Western Michigan has tallied 305 pts on the campaign (61.0 per game) and they average 35.2 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 11.0 times per game (280th in D-1) and they turn the ball over 13.8 times per contest. The Broncos are responsible for committing 16.8 personal fouls per game and they connect on 58.4% from the free throw line. The Broncos on the defensive side of the court are 91st in college hoops in points given up per game with 65.0. The Western Michigan defense allows 27.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter (31 of 111) and opponents are making 71.2% of their shots from the charity stripe. They give up 10.4 dimes and 35.0 total rebounds per game, which is ranked 66th and 156th in college hoops. They are able to force 11.0 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 40.9% from the floor (123rd in the nation).

When they last played, the Western Michigan Broncos took a loss by a score of 71-63 when they played the Milwaukee Panthers. The Broncos were able to collect 21 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards for a total of 28 for the matchup. They stuffed 2 tries while earning 3 steals for this contest. The Panthers earned 23 fouls for the contest which got the Broncos to the free throw line for 23 attempts. They were able to convert 12 of the free throws for a percentage of 52.2%. Regarding three-point attempts, Western Michigan knocked down 9 out of their 21 attempts (42.9%). In all, the Broncos finished the game shooting 21 out of 51 from the field which had them shooting 41.2%. The Broncos allowed the Panthers to bury 25 of 60 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 41.7% for the game. They finished 26.1% from three-point range by shooting 6 of 23 and finished the game at 15 of 21 from the charity stripe (71.4%). In reference to rebounding, Western Michigan allowed Milwaukee to collect 40 overall (11 on the offensive side).

Jason Whitens saw the court a lot for the Broncos in this contest. He converted 6 of 9 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 66.7%, which earned him 16 points. Whitens pulled down 4 rebounds in his 33 minutes and had 2 assists for the contest. An additional guy that was important for Western Michigan was Greg Lee. He was able to score 18 points in his 31 minutes on the court via 6 of 14 from the floor in this game. Lee finished going 42.9% from the floor while also contributing 2 assists and 8 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Central Michigan (+1)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here