Northern Kentucky Norse vs Cleveland State Vikings Prediction, 1/8/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Northern Kentucky Norse vs Cleveland State Vikings

Date: Friday, January 8, 2021

Location: Wolstein Center in Cleveland, OH

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Northern Kentucky (+3)

The Northern Kentucky Norse (5-4) head to Wolstein Center on Friday where they'll take on the Cleveland State Vikings (6-3). Cleveland State opens this matchup as 3-point favorites. The O/U is set at 136.5.

Northern Kentucky will enter this game with a record of 5-4 this year. They are turning it over 14.1 times per game and as a group they commit 16.8 personal fouls per game. As a unit, Northern Kentucky is pulling down 34.8 boards per contest and has earned 106 dimes for the season, which ranks 213th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Norse are connecting on 28.4% on shots from distance (63 of 222) and 66.7% from the free throw line. They have an average of 70.8 pts per game (220th in college basketball) while going 43.7% from the field. On defense, the Norse are forcing 15.4 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.0 fouls. They are currently ranked 226th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 123 relinquished this season. The Norse are giving up a field goal percentage of 47.4% (240 of 506) and they surrender 34.6 rebounds per game as a unit. They are conceding 32.8% from beyond the arc while they are 218th in the nation in opponents points per game (71.7).

The Northern Kentucky Norse took the court against the IPFW Mastodons and notched a win by a score of 70-68 in their last contest. Northern Kentucky ended with a 45.9% FG percentage (28 out of 61) and converted 7 out of their 26 three-point shots. From the free throw line, the Norse knocked down 7 of 7 shots for a percentage of 100%. In the matter of rebounding, they earned 33 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 13 assists for this contest as well as earning 6 steals and 2 rejections. With respect to defending, Northern Kentucky allowed the other team to shoot 45.9% from the floor on 28 out of 61 shooting. IPFW dished out 13 assists and had 11 steals in this matchup. On top of that, the Mastodons snagged 31 rebounds (11 offensive, 20 defensive) and had 2 rejections. IPFW finished the game at 59.1% when shooting free throws by burying 13 of 22 tries. They also converted 5 out of their 18 tries from three-point range.

Marques Warrick is a guy who was a major factor in this matchup. He ended up scoring 22 points on 10 out of 17 shooting. He saw the court for 33 minutes played and also pulled down 2 rebounds. Warrick walked away from this one shooting 58.8% from the floor and distributed 2 assists. An additional guy that played a role in the matchup for the Norse was Trey Robinson. He snagged 7 rebounds and had 3 dimes. He finished 71.4% from the floor for the matchup by shooting 5-of-7 (17 points). When the final whistle was blown, Robinson played 23 minutes.

Cleveland State has a win-loss mark of 6-3 this season. The Vikings commit 19.7 fouls every game and they hit 64.6% from the charity stripe. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 12.8 times per contest (218th in college basketball) and they turn the ball over 15.3 times per game. Cleveland State has totaled 612 pts so far this season (68.0 per contest) and they snag 33.4 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Vikings are hitting on 45.3% from the field, which is 145th in Division 1. The Vikings on the defensive end are ranked 187th in college basketball in PPG surrendered with 70.3. They have conceded 14.7 assists and 34.9 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks them 271st and 167th in college basketball. The Cleveland State defense allows 31.5% on shots from beyond the arc (68 of 216) and their opponents are making 69.5% of their free throw shots. They are forcing their opponents into 15.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 42.5% from the field (165th in the nation).

In their last game, the Cleveland State Vikings walked away with a victory by a final of 59-49 when they played the IUPUI Jaguars. The Vikings were able to pull down 24 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 31 for the game. They also turned away 2 tries while recording 14 steals in this matchup. The Jaguars were called for 15 fouls for the contest which took the Vikings to the free throw line for 14 shots. They were able to knock down 9 of the free throws for a clip of 64.3%. In the matter of shooting from 3-point land, Cleveland State made 4 of their 18 attempts (22.2%). Overall, the Vikings finished 23 out of 52 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 44.2%. The Vikings permitted the Jaguars to bury 19 of their 52 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 36.5% in this contest. They finished 20.8% from downtown by shooting 5 of 24 and finished the contest at 6 out of 8 at the free throw line (75.0%). With respect to team rebounding, Cleveland State permitted IUPUI to grab 27 in total (5 offensive).

Tre Gomillion pitched in for the Vikings in this matchup. He made 8 out of 13 in the game for a field goal rate of 61.5%, which earned him 18 points. Gomillion pulled down 4 rebounds in his 26 mins played and earned 2 dimes in the matchup. Another guy that was important for Cleveland State was Torrey Patton. He finished with 12 points in his 31 minutes on the hardwood via 5 out of 10 shooting for this contest. Patton wrapped this one up going 50.0% from the floor as well as contributing 2 assists and 6 rebounds.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Cleveland State (-3)

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