Buffalo Bulls vs Northern Illinois Huskies Prediction, 2/24/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Buffalo Bulls vs Northern Illinois Huskies

Date: Thursday, February 24, 2022

Location: NIU Convocation Center in DeKalb, IL

TV: ESPN3

The Buffalo Bulls (17-8) are en route to NIU Convocation Center on Thursday where they will meet the Northern Illinois Huskies (8-18).

The Buffalo Bulls stepped onto the hardwood against Miami and notched a win by a score of 86-84 in their last contest. In the matter of personal fouls, the Bulls ended up finishing with 16 and Miami totaled 14 personal fouls. They made 7 of 22 attempts from downtown. Miami ended up shooting 81.0% at the free throw line by burying 17 of their 21 attempts. Additionally, Miami collected 40 rebounds (15 offensive, 25 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Miami distributed 12 dimes and had 7 steals in this matchup. In terms of defense, Buffalo allowed their opponent to shoot 43.5% from the floor on 30 out of 69 shooting. They also doled out 19 dimes in this game as well as forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and having 8 steals. When it comes to pulling down boards, they compiled 42 with 14 of them being on the offensive end. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Bulls converted 8 of their 11 attempts for a rate of 72.7%. Buffalo wrapped up the contest with a 47.3% FG percentage (35 of 74) and converted 8 of their 20 three-point shots.

Josh Mballa is one guy who was a factor in this contest. He scored 23 points on 10 of 17 shooting. He saw the court for 36 minutes and also collected 17 boards. He finished the game shooting 58.8% from the floor and also distributed 4 assists.

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Buffalo comes into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 17-8 for the year. They are losing possession via turnover 13.4 times per game and as a group are committing 17.6 personal fouls per game. As a unit, Buffalo is snagging 42.8 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 385 assists on the campaign, which is 102nd in the country in terms of passing. The Bulls are hitting 34.5% on 3-point shots (219 of 635) and 71.4% from the charity stripe. They average 81.6 pts per game (8th in college basketball) while hitting 46.1% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Bulls have forced 12.5 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.8 personal fouls. They concede 30.2% on shots from distance and they are 266th in college basketball in opponents points per game (72.3). The Bulls defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 42.1% (660 of 1,567) and they relinquish 34.5 rebounds per contest as a group. They rank 38th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 276 conceded on the year.

In their last game, the Northern Illinois Huskies went home defeated by a final of 74-72 when they played Eastern Michigan. The Huskies recorded 18 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds totaling 24 for this contest. They also turned it over 12 times, while getting 11 steals for this contest. Eastern Michigan committed 16 personal fouls in this game which took the Huskies to the charity stripe for a total of 21 shots. They were able to make 14 of them for a rate of 66.7%. When discussing shots from 3-point land, Northern Illinois buried 6 out of 19 attempts (31.6%). Overall, the Huskies shot 26 for 58 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.8%. The Huskies permitted Eastern Michigan to knock down 27 of 46 tries from the floor which had them shooting 58.7% in the game. They finished 46.7% from three-point range by shooting 7 out of 15 and ended up shooting 13 out of 24 from the free throw line (54.2%). In reference to cleaning the glass, Northern Illinois allowed Eastern Michigan to collect 32 overall (8 offensive).

Keshawn Williams pitched in for the Huskies in the matchup. He had 24 points in his 36 mins on the hardwood, but finished this game without an assist. He knocked down 7 of 18 in this matchup for a rate of 38.9%, and tallied 3 rebounds.

Northern Illinois has a win-loss mark of 8-18 so far this season. The Huskies commit 20.4 personal fouls every game and they go 67.1% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 11.1 times per contest (312th in college hoops) and they turn it over 14.0 times per contest. Northern Illinois has scored 1,682 pts this season (64.7 per game) and they grab 31.8 boards per game. As an offense, the Huskies are connecting on 42.1% from the floor, which ranks them 280th in college hoops.

The Northern Illinois defense gives up 32.9% on shots from behind the 3-point line (169 of 514) and opponents are making 73.2% of their free throw attempts. They allow 13.4 dimes and 35.7 total boards per game, which has them ranked 242nd and 247th in college hoops. The Huskies defensively are ranked 265th in D-1 in points allowed per contest with 72.2. They are able to force 14.0 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 45.5% from the floor (304th in college hoops).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Buffalo

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