Ball State Cardinals vs Buffalo Bulls Prediction, 1/23/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Ball State Cardinals vs Buffalo Bulls

Date: Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Location: Alumni Arena in Buffalo, NY

TV: ESPN+

The Buffalo Bulls (2-15) will try to defeat the Ball State Cardinals (9-9) at Alumni Arena on Tuesday.

The Ball State Cardinals took the court against Miami and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 87-80 in their last game. When talking about fouls, the Cardinals ended up finishing with 19 while Miami had 22 fouls. They buried 8 of 21 tries from distance. Miami went 75.0% at the free throw line by making 15 of 20 attempts. On top of that, Miami pulled down 39 rebounds (8 offensive, 31 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Miami doled out 13 assists and had 6 steals in this matchup. In relation to defense, Ball State allowed the other team to shoot 50.8% from the floor on 32 of 63 shooting. They also doled out 17 dimes in this game while forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and having 8 steals. When it comes to grabbing boards, they compiled 34 with 7 of them being of the offensive sort. From the free throw line, the Cardinals converted 18 of their 23 attempts for a percentage of 78.3%. Ball State ended the contest having earned a 40.6% field goal percentage (26 out of 64) and made 10 of their 25 shots from downtown.

Basheer Jihad is a guy who played a role in this contest. He walked away from this one shooting 44.4% from the field and earned 4 assists. He was on the court for 36 mins played and also totaled 3 boards. He recorded 29 points on 8 of 18 shooting.

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Ball State steps onto the court with a record of 9-9 on the season. They are giving up possession 12.1 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 15.0 personal fouls every game. As a team, Ball State is pulling down 34.4 rebounds per game and has earned 216 dimes this year, which has them ranked 299th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Cardinals are connecting on 36.9% on shots beyond the perimeter (139 of 377) and 76.0% from the free throw line. They are averaging 74.3 points per contest (196th in college hoops) while going 45.7% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Cardinals are forcing 11.8 turnovers every game and they draw 19.1 fouls. They rank 127th in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 224 conceded on the year. The Cardinals defensively are allowing a FG percentage of 45.3% (465 of 1,026) and they surrender 32.2 boards per contest as a squad. They are conceding 34.2% on 3-point attempts while they are 150th in college basketball in points per game allowed (70.6).

When they last played, the Buffalo Bulls walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 77-66 when they played Toledo. In relation to how they cleaned up the glass, Buffalo allowed Toledo to pull down 36 in total (10 on the offensive glass). They finished 37.5% from beyond the perimeter by going 6 out of 16 and ended up going 13 of 17 at the free throw line (76.5%). The Bulls permitted Toledo to make 29 out of their 63 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 46.0% for the game. When the final whistle blew, the Bulls walked away from this one shooting 27 out of 62 from the field which gave them a percentage of 43.5%. Concerning shots from beyond the perimeter, Buffalo converted 6 out of their 25 attempts (24.0%). They were able to convert 6 of them for a clip of 54.5%. Toledo had 11 personal fouls in this contest which got the Bulls to the free throw line for a total of 11 shots. They gave up possession 13 times, while recording 5 steals in the matchup. The Bulls corralled 25 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds totaling 31 in this game.

Isaiah Adams was important for the Bulls for the contest. He knocked down 9 out of 15 for the game for a field goal percentage of 60.0%, and had 3 rebounds. He recorded 24 points in his 38 minutes on the hardwood, but wasn't able to get an assist.

Buffalo has a win-loss record of 2-15 so far this year. As an offense, the Bulls are shooting 41.6% from the field, which is 316th in Division 1. Buffalo has accounted for 1,150 points for the campaign (67.6 per game) and they grab 36.6 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 12.1 times per game (274th in the country) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 15.8 times per contest. The Bulls are committing 15.1 fouls every game and they hit 71.0% from the charity stripe.

The Buffalo defense concedes 34.2% on shots from behind the 3-point line (127 of 371) and their opponents are making 69.0% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 16.6 dimes and 34.8 boards per contest, which ranks 358th and 179th in those categories. The Bulls are ranked 343rd in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 79.1. They have forced 10.5 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 48.4% from the floor (355th in the nation).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Ball State

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