Ball State Cardinals vs Eastern Michigan Eagles Prediction, 2/25/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Ball State Cardinals vs Eastern Michigan Eagles

Date: Saturday, February 25, 2023

Location: Convocation Center (MI) in Ypsilanti, MI

TV: ESPN+

The Eastern Michigan Eagles (7-21) are welcoming the Ball State Cardinals (20-8) at Convocation Center (MI) on Saturday.

The Ball State Cardinals stepped onto the hardwood against Kent State and took home the win by a score of 82-70 in their last contest. Ball State ended the contest with a 49.0% field goal percentage (24 of 49) and converted 7 of 20 3-pointers. From the charity stripe, the Cardinals made 27 of 34 attempts for a rate of 79.4%. In regard to pulling down boards, they earned 34 with 7 of them being offensive. They also dished out 18 assists while forcing 7 turnovers, but wasn't able to record a steal. In relation to defending, Ball State allowed the other team to shoot 40.7% from the field on 24 out of 59 shooting. Kent State totaled 6 dimes and had 6 steals in this contest. Additionally, Kent State snagged 25 rebounds (9 offensive, 16 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Kent State finished shooting 71.4% from the charity stripe by knocking down 15 of their 21 attempts. They knocked down 7 out of their 15 tries from downtown. In reference to personal fouls, the Cardinals ended up with 20 and Kent State accumulated 24 personal fouls.

Jaylin Sellers is one player who was a major contributor in this game. He finished 77.8% from the field but had no dimes when the game ended. He was on the hardwood for 19 mins and also collected 2 rebounds. He accounted for 20 points on 7 out of 9 shooting.

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Ball State heads into this one with a win-loss record of 20-8 this year. They have an average of 76.5 pts per game (65th in the nation) while shooting 47.3% from the field. The Cardinals are hitting 37.5% on shots beyond the perimeter (211 of 563) and 67.8% from the free throw line. As a unit, Ball State is pulling in 36.5 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 369 dimes on the campaign, which is 183rd in the country in terms of passing the ball. They cough up possession 12.5 times per game and as a unit they commit 16.3 fouls every game.

On the defensive end, the Cardinals are forcing 11.9 turnovers per game while drawing 20.9 fouls. They rank 9th in the nation in giving up assists to their opponents with 261 relinquished for the year. The Cardinals defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 43.3% (706 of 1,629) and they concede 32.5 boards per contest as a group. They concede 37.2% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 176th in college hoops in PPG from their opponents (69.8).

The last time they took the court, the Eastern Michigan Eagles walked away with a victory by a final of 66-59 when they played Western Michigan. When talking about how they cleaned up the glass, Eastern Michigan permitted Western Michigan to get 30 overall (11 offensive). They finished the game shooting 28.6% from downtown by shooting 8 of 28 and ended up shooting 5 out of 9 at the charity stripe (55.6%). The Eagles allowed Western Michigan to bury 23 of 58 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 39.7% for this game. Overall, the Eagles walked away from this one shooting 23 for 52 from the floor which had them shooting 44.2%. In terms of shots from distance, Eastern Michigan converted 4 out of their 15 attempts (26.7%). They were able to make 16 of those for a clip of 94.1%. Western Michigan earned 16 fouls in the matchup which got the Eagles to the charity stripe for 17 attempts. They also turned it over 7 times, while recording 3 steals in the matchup. The Eagles were able to pull down 23 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards totaling 29 for this contest.

Emoni Bates pitched in for the Eagles in the matchup. He tallied 17 points in his 34 mins on the court and added 1 assist for this game. He knocked down 6 out of 18 in this contest for a rate of 33.3%, and had 7 rebounds.

Eastern Michigan has a record of 7-21 on the season. The Eagles are committing 19.2 fouls every game and they shoot 76.9% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 9.8 times per contest (356th in D-1) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.9 times per contest. Eastern Michigan has accounted for 2,030 pts on the season (72.5 per contest) and they pull down 31.4 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Eagles are connecting on 43.9% from the field, which ranks 227th in the country.

The Eastern Michigan defense allows 33.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter (240 of 707) and opponents are converting on 70.0% of their foul shots. They have given up 13.1 assists and 37.0 rebounds per game, ranking them 208th and 324th in those categories on the defensive end. The Eagles are ranked 358th in the nation in points allowed per contest with 80.9. They are able to force 12.4 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 48.3% from the floor (357th in the nation).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Eastern Michigan

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