Ohio Bobcats vs Western Michigan Broncos Prediction, 1/1/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Ohio Bobcats vs Western Michigan Broncos

Date: Saturday, January 1, 2022

Location: University Arena (MI) in Kalamazoo, MI

TV: ESPN3

The Western Michigan Broncos (4-8) will go up against the Ohio Bobcats (9-2) at University Arena (MI) on Saturday.

The Ohio Bobcats played USC Upstate and walked away with a win by a score of 85-70 in their last game. In reference to personal fouls, the Bobcats ended up with 8 while USC Upstate recorded 28 personal fouls. They knocked down 12 of 28 tries from 3-point land. USC Upstate ended up going 100.0% at the free throw line by burying 6 of their 6 shots. In addition, USC Upstate grabbed 21 rebounds (4 offensive, 17 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. USC Upstate recorded 16 dimes and had 6 steals for the game. In terms of the defense, Ohio allowed their opponent to shoot 46.4% from the floor on 26 out of 56 shooting. They also recorded 15 assists for the contest as well as forcing 14 turnovers and having 4 steals. When it comes to grabbing boards, they earned a total of 34 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Bobcats made 26 of 33 tries for a rate of 78.8%. Ohio wrapped up the game with a 48.1% field goal percentage (26 out of 54) and converted 7 of their 24 shots from beyond the arc.

Mark Sears is one guy who came through in the game. He shot 68.8% from the field and also earned 3 dimes. He was on the hardwood for 36 mins and also grabbed 8 boards. He finished with 33 points on 11 of 16 shooting.

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Ohio will enter this game with a record of 9-2 for the season. They currently have an average of 73.5 points per outing (152nd in Division 1) while connecting on 42.3% from the field. The Bobcats are hitting 33.8% on shots from downtown (97 of 287) and 78.8% from the free throw line. As a unit, Ohio is pulling down 33.4 boards per game and has 152 assists for the year, which is 222nd in the country in terms of passing the rock. They are losing possession via turnover 11.3 times per contest and as a group they are committing 12.6 fouls every game.

Defensively, the Bobcats have forced 16.0 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.0 personal fouls. They rank 127th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 137 relinquished for the season. The Bobcats are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 45.1% (273 of 605) and they relinquish 33.9 boards per game as a basketball team. They give up 31.3% on shots from distance while they are 144th in college hoops in points per game allowed (66.5).

In their last game, the Western Michigan Broncos took a defeat with a final score of 83-56 when they faced Toledo. The Broncos recorded 23 defensive boards and 15 offensive rebounds for a total of 38 in this matchup. They turned the ball over 16 times, while earning 2 steals for this contest. Toledo had 20 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Broncos to the charity stripe for a total of 24 shots. They were able to knock down 18 of those for a clip of 75.0%. Concerning shots from beyond the perimeter, Western Michigan converted 2 of 19 attempts (10.5%). When the final whistle blew, the Broncos finished the game shooting 18 for 56 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 32.1%. The Broncos permitted Toledo to make 32 of their 70 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 45.7% for the matchup. They finished the game shooting 33.3% from three-point range by going 8 of 24 and walked away from this one shooting 11 of 15 at the free throw line (73.3%). Regarding rebounding, Western Michigan allowed Toledo to collect 40 overall (12 on the offensive side).

Markeese Hastings ended up having an impact for the Broncos in this contest. He converted 3 of 7 for the matchup for a field goal percentage of 42.9%, and accounted for 18 rebounds. He tallied 9 points in his 30 minutes on the hardwood and totaled 2 dimes for the game.

Western Michigan has a record of 4-8 this year. When it comes to offensive execution, the Broncos are hitting on 42.0% from the field, which is 279th in D-1. Western Michigan has accounted for 786 points on the campaign (65.5 per contest) and they pull down 34.6 rebounds per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 10.4 times per contest (333rd in college basketball) and they turn the ball over 15.7 times per game. The Broncos have committed 16.0 fouls every game and they go 68.6% from the free throw line.

The Western Michigan defense allows 35.1% on three-point shots (107 of 305) and opponents are making 75.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They concede 14.8 dimes and 35.9 rebounds on a nightly basis, ranking them 314th and 237th in college hoops. The Broncos on defense are ranked 342nd in college hoops in points per game surrendered with 79.5. They are forcing their opponents into 10.4 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 46.0% from the floor (319th in college hoops).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Western Michigan

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