Bowling Green Falcons vs Northern Illinois Huskies Prediction, 1/2/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Bowling Green Falcons vs Northern Illinois Huskies

Date: Saturday, January 2, 2021

Location: NIU Convocation Center in Dekalb, IL

TV: ESPN3

Odds/Point Spread: Bowling Green (-9.5)

The Bowling Green Falcons (6-2) are headed to NIU Convocation Center on Saturday where they'll take on the Northern Illinois Huskies (1-6). Bowling Green opens this matchup as 9.5-point favorites. The over/under is set at 143.5.

Bowling Green enters this one with a win-loss mark of 6-2 this year. They average 83.8 points per game (33rd in D-1) on 44.3% from the floor. The Falcons are shooting 37.6% on shots beyond the perimeter (70 of 186) and 81.0% from the free throw line. As a team, Bowling Green is collecting 36.6 rebounds per contest and has tallied 104 assists for the year, which has them ranked 148th in the country in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession by turning the ball over 11.6 times per game and as a group are committing 17.6 fouls per game. When they are on defense, the Falcons are forcing 14.3 turnovers every game and they draw 19.0 personal fouls. The Falcons defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 46.0% (227 of 494) and they relinquish 36.9 boards per game as a group. They currently rank 284th in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 126 surrendered on the campaign. They give up 34.5% on shots from distance and they are 288th in the nation in opponents points per game (77.5).

The Bowling Green Falcons took the court against the Ohio Bobcats and walked away with a win by a score of 83-75 in their last contest. Bowling Green walked away from the contest with a 42.6% FG percentage (20 out of 47) and buried 7 of 22 3-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Falcons buried 36 of their 38 attempts for a percentage of 94.7%. With respect to pulling down rebounds, they earned 35 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 12 assists in the matchup while getting 2 steals and 2 rejections. Concerning defending, Bowling Green allowed their opponent to shoot 42.6% from the field on 20 out of 47 shooting. Ohio earned 20 assists and had 5 steals in the game. Moreover, the Bobcats pulled down 30 boards (10 offensive, 20 defensive) and got 2 rejections. Ohio finished the game shooting 75.0% when shooting free throws by knocking down 9 of their 12 tries. They also converted 12 out of their 33 attempts from 3-point land.

Trey Diggs is one player who was a major contributor in this matchup. He racked up 20 points on 5 out of 10 shooting. He played 26 minutes and pulled down 7 rebounds. Diggs shot 50.0% from the floor and earned 2 dimes. One more player that was a major factor in the matchup for the Falcons was Kaden Metheny. He grabbed 8 rebounds and earned 2 assists. He shot 50.0% from the floor for the contest by hitting 4-of-8 (16 points). When the final whistle blew, Metheny played 33 min.

Northern Illinois has a mark of 1-6 for the year. Northern Illinois has totaled 415 pts for the season (59.3 per contest) and they pull in 36.4 boards per contest. The Huskies are committing 17.7 fouls per game and they connect on 64.9% from the free throw line. On the offensive side of the court, the Huskies are connecting on 38.8% from the floor, which is ranked 326th in the country. They are getting an assist 9.7 times per contest (316th in D-1) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 15.1 times per game. The Huskies on the defensive end are ranked 293rd in Division 1 in PPG allowed with 77.7. The Northern Illinois defense allows 38.7% from downtown (75 of 194) and their opponents are connecting on 65.9% of their free throw attempts. They have relinquished 18.7 dimes and 36.6 rebounds every game, which has them ranked 330th and 224th in those defensive categories. They are forcing 11.1 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 46.9% from the floor (294th in the nation).

For their last game, the Northern Illinois Huskies took a defeat with a final score of 78-55 when they faced the Toledo Rockets. The Huskies collected 19 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive boards totaling 32 for this game. They also turned away 2 attempts while recording 10 steals for the contest. The Rockets committed 19 personal fouls for the contest which took the Huskies to the free throw line for a total of 17 attempts. They were able to bury 10 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 58.8%. When talking about shots from distance, Northern Illinois made 1 of 15 attempts (6.7%). Overall, the Huskies finished shooting 22 for 60 from the field which had them sitting at 36.7%. The Huskies allowed the Rockets to convert 27 of 57 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 47.4% in this game. They finished 40.0% from behind the 3-point line via 12 of 30 and ended up going 12 of 16 at the free throw line (75.0%). Regarding attacking the glass, Northern Illinois allowed Toledo to get 39 in total (8 on the offensive side).

Trendon Hankerson pitched in for the Huskies for this game. He made 7 out of 20 in the matchup for a field goal rate of 35.0%, which earned him 16 points. Hankerson pulled down 4 rebounds in his 33 mins and added 2 assists in this contest. Another guy that was important for Northern Illinois was Tyler Cochran. He finished with 15 points in his 31 minutes played by way of 5 of 12 shooting in the game. Cochran ended the game having shot 41.7% from the field in addition to collecting 2 assists and 9 rebounds.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Northern Illinois (+9.5)

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