Buffalo Bulls vs Northern Illinois Huskies Prediction, 2/28/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Buffalo Bulls vs Northern Illinois Huskies

Date: Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Location: NIU Convocation Center in DeKalb, IL

TV: ESPN+

The Northern Illinois Huskies (12-17) welcome the Buffalo Bulls (13-16) at NIU Convocation Center on Tuesday.

The Buffalo Bulls faced off with Toledo and ended up losing by a score of 101-71 in their last game. Buffalo walked away from the contest with a 39.4% field goal percentage (26 out of 66) and converted 7 of their 25 shots from 3-point land. From the charity stripe, the Bulls made 12 of 15 attempts for a percentage of 80.0%. In reference to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 32 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 13 assists for this contest in addition to forcing the other team into 5 turnovers and getting 3 steals. In the matter of defense, Buffalo allowed the other team to go 59.1% from the floor on 39 of 66 shooting. Toledo earned 25 assists and had 5 steals in this contest. Additionally, Toledo collected 33 boards (6 offensive, 27 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Toledo finished shooting 66.7% from the free throw line by making 10 of their 15 attempts. They also buried 13 of their 23 attempts from 3-point range. With respect to personal fouls, the Bulls ended up finishing with 16 and Toledo totaled 15 personal fouls.

Laquill Hardnett is one guy who was a major factor in the game. He ended up shooting 53.3% from the field and dished out 1 assist. He saw the court for 29 mins and also totaled 6 boards. He accounted for 20 points on 8 of 15 shooting.

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Buffalo will enter this game with a win-loss mark of 13-16 for the season. They are averaging 77.6 points per contest (47th in Division 1) while connecting on 45.4% from the floor. The Bulls are hitting 32.3% on shots from beyond the arc (205 of 634) and 69.7% from the charity stripe. As a team, Buffalo is grabbing 37.8 boards per contest and has 438 dimes on the season, which has them ranked 70th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession via turnover 14.5 times per contest and as a unit are committing 19.0 fouls per contest.

Defensively, the Bulls are forcing their opponents into 14.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.0 fouls. They rank 297th in D-1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 425 relinquished for the season. The Bulls defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 44.7% (793 of 1,773) and they concede 35.8 boards per game as a group. They are surrendering 34.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are ranked 347th in Division 1 in PPG from their opponents (77.4).

When they last played, the Northern Illinois Huskies walked away with a victory by a final of 84-80 against Central Michigan. When discussing rebounding, Northern Illinois allowed Central Michigan to collect 37 in total (14 offensive). They went 27.3% from beyond the arc by going 6 out of 22 and ended up going 30 out of 37 from the free throw line (81.1%). The Huskies allowed Central Michigan to bury 22 of 60 tries from the floor which had them shooting 36.7% for the contest. In all, the Huskies finished shooting 26 out of 50 from the field which gave them a percentage of 52.0%. Pertaining to shots from beyond the perimeter, Northern Illinois made 7 of 13 attempts (53.8%). They were able to make 25 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 64.1%. Central Michigan had 29 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Huskies to the free throw line for 39 tries. They coughed up the ball 17 times, while getting 3 steals in this contest. The Huskies were able to collect 23 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards totaling 30 in the matchup.

Zarique Nutter ended up being a factor for the Huskies for this game. He racked up 21 points in his 36 mins on the hardwood and had 1 assist in this matchup. He made 7 of 15 for the contest for a field goal rate of 46.7%, and earned 7 rebounds.

Northern Illinois has a record of 12-17 so far this season. As an offensive unit, the Huskies are shooting 45.9% from the field, which is 103rd in Division 1. Northern Illinois has accounted for 2,087 points for the campaign (72.0 per game) and they grab 33.2 boards per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 12.2 times per contest (262nd in college basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 14.3 times per contest. The Huskies commit 19.3 fouls per contest while shooting 65.3% from the free throw line.

The Northern Illinois defense allows 33.3% from downtown (211 of 634) and their opponents are connecting on 69.7% of their shots from the charity stripe. They concede 13.0 dimes and 37.7 boards per contest, which has them ranked 210th and 339th in college basketball. The Huskies are ranked 313th in the nation in points per game surrendered with 75.0. They are forcing 13.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 44.7% from the field (255th in college basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Northern Illinois

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