Eastern Michigan Eagles vs Ball State Cardinals Prediction, 2/26/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Eastern Michigan Eagles vs Ball State Cardinals

Date: Saturday, February 26, 2022

Location: Worthen Arena in Muncie, IN

TV: ESPN3

Worthen Arena is the location where the Ball State Cardinals (12-15) will attempt to defeat the Eastern Michigan Eagles (10-18) on Saturday.

The Eastern Michigan Eagles played Northern Illinois and went home with a win by a final score of 74-72 in their last game. Eastern Michigan ended the game with a 58.7% field goal percentage (27 of 46) and made 7 of their 15 three-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Eagles buried 13 of 24 tries for a rate of 54.2%. In regard to hauling in boards, they collected a total of 32 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 17 dimes in this contest while forcing 12 turnovers and having 5 steals. In terms of the defense, Eastern Michigan allowed the other team to shoot 44.8% from the field on 26 out of 58 shooting. Northern Illinois totaled 12 assists and had 11 steals for this game. Moreover, Northern Illinois pulled down 24 rebounds (6 offensive, 18 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Northern Illinois went 66.7% from the free throw line by making 14 of their 21 tries. They made 6 out of their 19 attempts from distance. Concerning personal fouls, the Eagles finished with 16 while Northern Illinois totaled 20 personal fouls.

Noah Farrakhan is a player who played a role in this contest. He ended up shooting 78.6% from the floor and also recorded 4 assists. He saw the court for 37 mins and collected 7 rebounds. He notched 31 points on 11 out of 14 shooting.

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Eastern Michigan will enter this matchup with a win-loss record of 10-18 this year. They have an average of 69.9 pts per contest (218th in the country) while connecting on 43.3% from the field. The Eagles are shooting 31.4% on shots from downtown (176 of 560) and 70.4% from the charity stripe. As a team, Eastern Michigan is pulling in 34.5 boards per game and is sitting with 285 dimes on the season, which is 319th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They are giving up possession 14.0 times per game and as a squad are committing 17.4 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Eagles have forced 13.0 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 17.5 fouls. They currently rank 211th in college basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 350 surrendered on the season. The Eagles defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 44.8% (777 of 1,733) and they surrender 38.6 rebounds per game as a group. They are conceding 35.5% from 3-point land while they are 328th in D-1 in PPG from their opponents (76.2).

When they last stepped on the court, the Ball State Cardinals took a loss by a score of 93-82 against Kent State. When discussing attacking the glass, Ball State permitted Kent State to get 21 overall (5 offensive). They finished shooting 45.9% from distance by going 17 of 37 and ended up going 12 out of 16 from the charity stripe (75.0%). The Cardinals allowed Kent State to bury 32 out of their 64 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 50.0% for the game. When all was said and done, the Cardinals walked away from this one shooting 27 for 46 from the floor which had them at 58.7%. When it comes to 3-point attempts, Ball State knocked down 12 of 22 attempts (54.5%). They were able to knock down 16 of the free throw tries for a rate of 72.7%. Kent State committed 18 personal fouls in the game which took the Cardinals to the charity stripe for 22 attempts. They turned it over 21 times, while earning 7 steals in this game. The Cardinals were able to pull down 22 defensive boards and 3 offensive rebounds totaling 25 in this contest.

Luke Bumbalough pitched in for the Cardinals in this matchup. He converted 5 of 7 in the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 71.4%, and had 3 rebounds. He had 14 points in his 30 mins on the court and added 2 dimes for the game.

Ball State has a record of 12-15 on the year. The Cardinals commit 18.0 personal fouls every game and they shoot 69.3% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 13.5 times per contest (154th in college basketball) and they are turning it over 14.4 times per game. Ball State has scored 2,038 points this year (75.5 per contest) and they collect 35.3 boards per game. When it comes to offense, the Cardinals are hitting on 45.1% from the floor, which ranks 125th in the nation.

The Cardinals on the defensive side of the court are 339th in college basketball in points allowed per contest with 77.7. They have forced 12.7 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 45.0% from the floor (283rd in D-1). The Ball State defense gives up 36.3% on 3-pointers (247 of 680) and their opponents are converting on 71.3% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 13.7 dimes and 35.9 boards per contest, which has them ranked 264th and 260th in the country.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Ball State

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