Ohio Bobcats vs Ball State Cardinals Prediction, 1/2/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Ohio Bobcats vs Ball State Cardinals

Date: Saturday, January 2, 2021

Location: Worthen Arena in Muncie, IN

TV: CBSSN

Odds/Point Spread: Ohio (+2.5)

Worthen Arena is the venue where and the Ball State Cardinals (4-3) will take on the Ohio Bobcats (4-4) on Saturday. Ohio opens this matchup as 2.5-point underdogs. The O/U opens at 143.

Ohio will enter this contest with a mark of 4-4 on the year. The Bobcats are connecting on 35.7% on shots from 3-point land (70 of 196) and 64.3% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 81.0 points per contest (57th in the country) while shooting 48.0% from the floor. They are turning it over 12.1 times per game and as a unit are committing 17.0 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Ohio is pulling down 34.5 rebounds per game and has accumulated 143 assists on the season, which has them ranked 49th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. On the defensive end of the court, the Bobcats are forcing their opponents into 15.4 turnovers per contest while drawing 21.0 personal fouls. The Bobcats defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 43.7% (198 of 453) and they relinquish 33.8 boards per contest as a group. They are currently ranked 211th in Division 1 in giving up assists with 102 relinquished on the year. They are giving up 32.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 229th in college basketball in opponents points per game (72.8).

The Ohio Bobcats faced the Bowling Green Falcons and ended up losing by a score of 83-75 in their last contest. Ohio wrapped up the contest having earned a 40.9% FG percentage (27 of 66) and converted 12 out of their 33 three-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Bobcats converted 9 of their 12 shots for a rate of 75.0%. When it comes to grabbing rebounds, they collected 30 with 10 of them being offensive. They also recorded 20 assists for the contest while having 5 steals and 2 rejections. In the matter of defending, Ohio allowed the other team to shoot 40.9% from the field on 27 of 66 shooting. Bowling Green earned 12 dimes and had 2 steals for the game. Furthurmore, the Falcons had 35 rebounds (7 offensive, 28 defensive) and added 2 blocked shots. Bowling Green finished the game shooting 94.7% at the free throw line by knocking down 36 of their 38 tries. They also buried 7 out of their 22 tries from distance.

Dwight Wilson is a player who was a major contributor in the matchup. He ended up with 20 points on 9 out of 14 shooting. He was on the court for 33 minutes and totaled 6 rebounds. Wilson shot 64.3% from the floor and also distributed 2 assists. An additional guy that came through in this matchup for the Bobcats was Ben Roderick. He had 3 rebounds and also accounted for 2 dimes. He ended up going 50.0% from the floor for the matchup by shooting 6-of-12 (16 points). In all, Roderick played for 30 min.

Ball State has a win-loss record of 4-3 on the season. As an offensive team, the Cardinals are shooting 42.4% from the floor, which ranks 259th in the country. Ball State has accounted for 500 points for the year (71.4 per game) and they pull down 35.6 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 10.9 times per game (297th in college basketball) and they turn it over 12.4 times per contest. The Cardinals commit 18.9 fouls every game and they connect on 65.8% from the charity stripe. The Cardinals defensively are ranked 183rd in Division 1 in PPG given up with 70.7. The Ball State defense surrenders 28.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter (41 of 142) and their opponents are making 68.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They have allowed 11.1 assists and 38.3 boards per contest, which has them ranked 74th and 270th in college basketball. They are able to force 14.7 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 43.9% from the floor (218th in college basketball).

When they last played, the Ball State Cardinals went home victorious with a score of 76-68 when they faced the Western Michigan Broncos. The Cardinals were able to corral 23 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive boards totaling 29 in this matchup. They also blocked 4 shots while earning 9 steals in this contest. The Broncos had 14 fouls for the contest which got the Cardinals to the charity stripe for 12 shots. They were able to convert 9 of the free throws for a percentage of 75.0%. In relation to shots from 3-point land, Ball State buried 9 of their 20 attempts (45.0%). Overall, the Cardinals finished shooting 29 out of 56 from the field which gave them a rate of 51.8%. The Cardinals permitted the Broncos to knock down 23 of their 52 attempts from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 44.2% for the matchup. They finished 31.6% from three-point range by going 6 out of 19 and ended up going 16 of 21 from the charity stripe (76.2%). In relation to how they cleaned up the glass, Ball State allowed Western Michigan to grab 29 in total (8 on the offensive glass).

K.J. Walton ended up being important for the Cardinals in this contest. He buried 10 out of 15 for the contest for a rate of 66.7%, which got him 20 points. Walton collected 3 boards in his 33 minutes and had 2 dimes in this matchup. Another guy that ended being a contributor for Ball State was Luke Bumbalough. He notched 17 points in 28 minutes on the hardwood via 6 out of 7 shooting in this game. Bumbalough walked away from this one going 85.7% from the field while also earning 4 dimes and 2 rebounds.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Ohio (+2.5)

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