Bowling Green Falcons vs Ball State Cardinals Prediction, 1/1/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Bowling Green Falcons vs Ball State Cardinals

Date: Saturday, January 1, 2022

Location: Worthen Arena in Muncie, IN

TV: ESPN3

Worthen Arena is where the Ball State Cardinals (5-6) will meet the Bowling Green Falcons (7-4) on Saturday.

The Bowling Green Falcons took the court against Carlow and walked away with a win by a score of 129-50 in their last contest. In reference to personal fouls, the Falcons ended up with 16 and Carlow recorded 21 personal fouls. They also converted 4 of 28 tries from three-point range. Carlow shot 72.7% from the free throw line by burying 8 of their 11 attempts. Moreover, Carlow collected 26 rebounds (7 offensive, 19 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Carlow totaled 8 dimes and had 6 steals in this game. In terms of defending, Bowling Green allowed the other team to shoot 28.8% from the field on 19 out of 66 shooting. They also distributed 32 dimes for the contest in addition to creating 18 turnovers and earning 9 steals. When talking about pulling down rebounds, they compiled 54 with 17 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Falcons converted 16 of 23 shots for a percentage of 69.6%. Bowling Green walked away from the game having earned a 57.8% FG percentage (48 out of 83) and knocked down 17 of their 38 shots from distance.

Isaac Elsasser is one guy who was a factor in this game. He finished with 20 points on 7 out of 13 shooting. He played 21 mins and collected 3 boards. He ended up going 53.8% from the field but finished the game without an assist.

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Bowling Green will play this contest with a mark of 7-4 for the season. They lose possession by turning the ball over 13.4 times per contest and as a unit they commit 17.3 fouls per game. As a team, Bowling Green is snagging 44.2 rebounds per game and has totaled 149 assists so far this season, which ranks 234th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Falcons are connecting on 34.8% from downtown (102 of 293) and 75.2% from the free throw line. They are averaging 84.0 pts per game (10th in college basketball) while connecting on 43.8% from the floor.

On defense, the Falcons are forcing 15.3 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.7 fouls. They are ranked 159th in college basketball in allowing assists with 143 surrendered on the year. The Falcons defense is giving up a FG percentage of 40.1% (285 of 710) and they surrender 38.1 boards per contest as a team. They surrender 32.2% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 270th in college basketball in points per game allowed (72.4).

When they last stepped on the court, the Ball State Cardinals got the victory with a final of 75-55 against Eastern Illinois. The Cardinals corralled 17 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive boards for a total of 29 in this game. They also coughed up the ball 12 times, while recording 11 steals in this matchup. Eastern Illinois was called for 25 personal fouls for the matchup which took the Cardinals to the free throw line for a total of 25 tries. They were able to knock down 16 of the free throw tries for a rate of 64.0%. When talking about shooting from distance, Ball State buried 7 out of 23 tries (30.4%). When the final whistle was blown, the Cardinals finished 26 for 55 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 47.3%. The Cardinals permitted Eastern Illinois to make 18 of 41 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.9% for the game. They finished 35.3% from beyond the arc by connecting on 6 out of 17 and ended up shooting 13 of 21 at the free throw line (61.9%). Concerning how they attacked the glass, Ball State allowed Eastern Illinois to snag 24 in all (5 offensive).

Tyler Cochran was important for the Cardinals for this game. He knocked down 4 out of 6 for this contest for a rate of 66.7%, and had 10 rebounds. He scored 9 points in his 29 minutes on the hardwood and added 6 assists in this contest.

Ball State has a win-loss mark of 5-6 so far this season. The Cardinals commit 17.9 fouls per contest and they connect on 66.2% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 14.1 times per game (141st in college basketball) and they turn it over 14.1 times per game. Ball State has earned 818 pts on the year (74.4 per game) and they average 34.5 boards per contest. On the offensive side of the court, the Cardinals are shooting 44.1% from the floor, which has them ranked 193rd in college basketball.

The Ball State defense gives up 38.0% on 3-point attempts (103 of 271) and opponents are knocking down 69.9% of their shots from the charity stripe. They surrender 13.4 dimes and 36.5 total boards per game, which ranks them 232nd and 261st in those defensive categories. The Cardinals on the defensive end are ranked 334th in D-1 in PPG given up with 77.9. They are able to force 12.9 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 46.1% from the floor (320th in the country).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Bowling Green

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