Chicago State Cougars vs Northern Illinois Huskies Prediction, 12/18/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Chicago State Cougars vs Northern Illinois Huskies

Date: Friday, December 18, 2020

Location: NIU Convocation Center in Dekalb, IL

TV: ESPN3

Odds/Point Spread: Chicago State (+17.5)

The Northern Illinois Huskies (0-5) play the Chicago State Cougars (0-7) at NIU Convocation Center on Friday. Northern Illinois opens this contest as 17.5-point favorites. The O/U has been set at 135.5.

Chicago State will enter this game with a record of 0-7 this season. The Cougars are hitting 23.4% on 3-pointers (36 of 154) and 69.8% from the free throw line. They average 54.0 pts per contest (322nd in the nation) while hitting 34.6% from the field. They cough up possession 15.7 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 21.6 personal fouls per game. As a team, Chicago State is pulling in 26.3 boards per game and has totaled 67 dimes on the season, which ranks 183rd in college basketball in terms of passing the rock. On defense, the Cougars are forcing 11.9 turnovers per game while drawing 15.6 personal fouls. They give up 41.0% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 320th in college basketball in points per game allowed (89.0). The Cougars defensively are allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 53.1% (224 of 422) and they surrender 42.0 rebounds per game as a squad. They are currently ranked 323rd in the country in giving up assists to the opposition with 136 conceded for the season.

The Chicago State Cougars took the court against the Illinois State Redbirds and went home with a loss by a final score of 91-62 in their last game. Chicago State finished having earned a 37.3% field goal percentage (22 of 59) and knocked down 5 out of their 20 3-point shots. At the free throw line, the Cougars knocked down 13 of their 17 shots for a rate of 76.5%. Concerning getting rebounds, they earned 30 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 6 assists in this contest while getting 8 steals and 2 rejections. Concerning defending, Chicago State allowed their opponent to shoot 37.3% from the floor on 22 of 59. Illinois State doled out 24 dimes and 9 steals in this matchup. On top of that, the Redbirds collected 40 rebounds (9 offensive, 31 defensive) and had 2 blocked shots. Illinois State ended up shooting 63.2% when shooting free throws by burying 12 of 19 shots. They buried 17 of their 36 shots from three-point range.

Xavier Johnson is one player who came through in this matchup. He accounted for 22 points on 7 of 17 shooting. He played 38 minutes played and collected 5 rebounds. Johnson shot 41.2% from the field and earned 2 dimes. Someone else that was a determining factor in the matchup for the Cougars was Carlo Marble. He grabbed 5 rebounds and earned 2 dimes. He ended up going 50.0% from the floor for the game by connecting on 7-of-14 (17 points). Overall, Marble played for 37 min.

Northern Illinois has a mark of 0-5 so far this year. The Huskies commit 19.0 fouls every game and they go 63.8% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 10.4 times per contest (299th in the nation) and they turn it over 16.2 times per contest. Northern Illinois has scored 296 pts for the campaign (59.2 per game) and they pull in 36.2 boards per contest. As an offense, the Huskies are hitting on 38.7% from the field, which is ranked 321st in the nation. The Huskies are ranked 306th in the country in points allowed per contest with 82.4. They are forcing 9.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 48.0% from the floor (295th in college basketball). The Northern Illinois defense allows 39.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter (55 of 140) and their opponents are converting on 64.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They have surrendered 20.4 dimes and 37.0 boards per game, which ranks 325th and 222nd in D-1.

In their last game, the Northern Illinois Huskies went home defeated by a final of 106-53 when they played the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Huskies were able to pull down 18 defensive boards and 19 offensive boards for a total of 37 for this contest. They blocked 2 attempts while getting 5 steals in this matchup. The Hawkeyes were called for 9 personal fouls in this contest which got the Huskies to the charity stripe for a total of 9 tries. They were able to knock down 3 of those for a rate of 33.3%. Regarding shots from beyond the perimeter, Northern Illinois converted 2 out of 15 tries (13.3%). Overall, the Huskies finished the game shooting 24 out of 70 from the field which gave them a rate of 34.3%. The Huskies permitted the Hawkeyes to convert 41 out of their 73 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 56.2% for this game. They finished 40.0% from 3-point land by connecting on 12 of 30 and finished the contest at 12 of 18 from the free throw line (66.7%). Concerning rebounding, Northern Illinois permitted Iowa to grab 44 overall (15 offensive).

Anthony Crump ended up being a factor for the Huskies in this game. He converted 5 of 12 in the matchup for a rate of 41.7%, which had him finishing with 10 points. Crump pulled down 5 boards in his 34 minutes played and had 2 assists in this contest. An additional guy who saw a lot of action for Northern Illinois was Adong Makuoi. He ended up with 14 points in 27 minutes on the court by going 7 out of 10 shooting for this contest. Makuoi finished going 70.0% from the floor and also earning 2 assists and 4 boards.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Northern Illinois (-17.5) and under 135.5 points

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