Ball State Cardinals vs Buffalo Bulls Prediction, 1/9/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Ball State Cardinals vs Buffalo Bulls

Date: Saturday, January 9, 2021

Location: Alumni Arena in Buffalo, NY

TV: ESPN3

Odds/Point Spread: Ball State (+6)

The Ball State Cardinals (4-4) go to Alumni Arena on Saturday where they'll meet the Buffalo Bulls (3-3). The spread on this game has Buffalo as 6-point favorites. The total is set at 150.

Ball State enters this matchup with a win-loss mark of 4-4 for the year. The Cardinals are hitting 31.1% on shots from downtown (57 of 183) and 66.5% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 71.0 pts per game (216th in Division 1) while hitting 42.9% from the field. They are losing possession via turnover 12.3 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 18.3 fouls per game. As a team, Ball State is pulling in 34.4 boards per contest and is sitting with 94 assists on the campaign, which has them ranked 249th in Division 1 in terms of passing. On the defensive end, the Cardinals are forcing 14.3 turnovers per game and they draw 19.8 personal fouls. They are relinquishing 30.0% on three-point shots and they rank 213th in college hoops in PPG from their opponents (71.6). The Cardinals are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 45.3% (211 of 466) and they surrender 37.5 rebounds per contest as a group. They are ranked 95th in college hoops in giving up assists with 91 surrendered on the year.

The Ball State Cardinals faced the Ohio Bobcats and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 78-68 in their last game. Ball State finished with a 46.4% FG percentage (26 out of 56) and knocked down 9 of 25 three-point shots. When they shot from the free throw line, the Cardinals made 7 of their 9 shots for a percentage of 77.8%. In the matter of grabbing rebounds, they earned 23 with 6 of them being offensive. They also doled out 18 assists for this contest in addition to having 5 steals and 2 rejections. In the matter of defense, Ball State let their opponent shoot 46.4% from the floor on 26 out of 56 shooting. Ohio totaled 13 assists and had 8 steals in this game. Furthurmore, the Bobcats snagged 27 rebounds (7 offensive, 20 defensive) and added 2 blocks. Ohio finished 69.2% at the charity stripe by burying 9 of 13 attempts. They knocked down 7 out of their 18 shots from distance.

Ishmael El-Amin is a player who came through in this matchup. He scored 18 points on 5 of 11 shooting. He was on the court for 36 minutes and grabbed 4 rebounds. El-Amin finished shooting 45.5% from the floor and recorded 4 assists. An additional guy that came through in the matchup for the Cardinals was Miryne Thomas. He snagged 8 rebounds and also accumulated 4 dimes. He finished the contest at 77.8% from the floor in this game by hitting 7-of-9 (17 points). When the final whistle blew, Thomas was on the hardwood for 32 min.

Buffalo has a record of 3-3 for the season. When it comes to offense, the Bulls are hitting on 47.6% from the floor, which is 74th in Division 1. Buffalo has totaled 493 points this season (82.2 per game) and they grab 43.3 rebounds per contest. They are earning an assist 15.7 times per contest (70th in college basketball) and they turn the ball over 14.2 times per contest. The Bulls commit 21.5 fouls every game and they go 65.2% from the charity stripe. The Bulls defensively are ranked 293rd in Division 1 in points allowed per contest with 77.0. The Buffalo defense concedes 24.4% on 3-pointers (32 of 131) and their opponents are converting on 74.4% of their foul shots. They allow 12.3 dimes and 36.3 boards per game, which is ranked 146th and 219th in those defensive categories. They have forced 11.5 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 41.1% from the floor (104th in the nation).

When they last stepped on the court, the Buffalo Bulls took a loss by a final score of 107-96 when they faced the Syracuse Orange. The Bulls corralled 26 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive boards for a total of 40 for the contest. They also blocked 2 shots while earning 5 steals for the game. The Orange were called for 15 personal fouls in this contest which took the Bulls to the charity stripe for a total of 13 shots. They were able to knock down 9 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 69.2%. Concerning shots from downtown, Buffalo knocked down 9 out of their 22 tries (40.9%). When the game finished, the Bulls shot 39 out of 79 from the field which gave them a percentage of 49.4%. The Bulls permitted the Orange to knock down 36 out of 75 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 48.0% in this matchup. They finished 15.8% from downtown by connecting on 3 of 19 and ended up shooting 32 of 42 from the free throw line (76.2%). When it comes to cleaning up the glass, Buffalo allowed Syracuse to grab 40 in total (14 offensive).

Josh Mballa pitched in for the Bulls for this contest. He knocked down 11 of 18 in this game giving him a field goal percentage of 61.1%, which earned him 27 points. Mballa had 7 rebounds in his 32 mins played and earned 2 dimes in this game. One more player that was important for Buffalo was Jayvon Graves. He was able to score 22 points in his 41 minutes on the hardwood via 9 of 19 from the floor for the matchup. Graves ended the game having shot 47.4% from the field while earning 7 assists and 8 rebounds.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Buffalo (-6)

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