Ball State Cardinals vs Eastern Michigan Eagles Prediction, 1/16/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Ball State Cardinals vs Eastern Michigan Eagles

Date: Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Location: George Gervin GameAbove Center in Ypsilanti, MI

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Ball State (+1)

The Eastern Michigan Eagles (8-8) welcome the Ball State Cardinals (8-8) at George Gervin GameAbove Center on Tuesday. Ball State opens this game as 1-point underdogs. The betting total comes in at 140.5.

The Ball State Cardinals played Toledo and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 77-72 in their last game. In reference to personal fouls, the Cardinals finished with 18 while Toledo recorded 13 personal fouls. They also converted 7 of 18 attempts from beyond the arc. Toledo went 72.7% at the charity stripe by burying 16 of their 22 tries. In addition, Toledo grabbed 27 rebounds (8 offensive, 19 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Toledo recorded 10 assists and had 7 steals in the game. With respect to defense, Ball State allowed the other team to go 44.3% from the floor on 27 out of 61 shooting. They also doled out 10 assists in this matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 4 turnovers and getting 3 steals. With respect to grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 25 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Cardinals knocked down 10 of their 11 shots for a percentage of 90.9%. Ball State ended the game having earned a 50.9% FG percentage (27 out of 53) and made 8 of their 25 3-point shots.

Jalin Anderson is someone who was a major factor in this matchup. He ended up shooting 66.7% from the field and also dished out 5 assists. He played 38 mins and snagged 6 boards. He totaled 25 points on 10 of 15 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Basketball Picks

Ball State enters this game with a record of 8-8 for the season. They average 73.9 points per game (208th in the nation) while hitting 45.8% from the field. The Cardinals are connecting on 36.6% on 3-pointers (122 of 333) and 75.7% from the free throw line. As a unit, Ball State is snagging 34.5 rebounds per game and has accumulated 188 dimes for the season, which ranks 318th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 12.3 times per contest and as a group are committing 14.9 fouls per game.

Defensively, the Cardinals are forcing 11.4 turnovers per game and they draw 19.0 fouls. They are ranked 141st in the nation in giving up assists with 202 surrendered for the year. The Cardinals defense is allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 45.3% (410 of 906) and they relinquish 31.4 boards per game as a team. They are surrendering 34.5% on 3-point attempts and they rank 145th in Division 1 in opponents points per game (70.1).

When they last played, the Eastern Michigan Eagles went home defeated by a final of 71-54 when they faced Miami. The Eagles snagged 20 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 30 in the game. They also coughed up the ball 9 times, while earning 5 steals in the matchup. Miami had 17 personal fouls for this game which got the Eagles to the charity stripe for a total of 19 attempts. They were able to convert 14 of those for a percentage of 73.7%. In regard to shots from distance, Eastern Michigan converted 4 of their 20 tries (20.0%). When the final whistle blew, the Eagles shot 18 for 58 from the field which had them shooting 31.0%. The Eagles allowed Miami to make 23 out of 50 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.0% in this game. They finished shooting 35.0% from distance by hitting 7 of 20 and ended up shooting 18 of 21 from the charity stripe (85.7%). In regard to how they attacked the glass, Eastern Michigan permitted Miami to pull down 38 overall (7 on the offensive glass).

Tyson Acuff ended up being a major contributor for the Eagles in the matchup. He made 8 out of 16 for the game for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and earned 1 rebound. He racked up 19 points in his 31 mins of playing time, but wrapped up this contest with no dimes.

Eastern Michigan has a mark of 8-8 this season. When it comes to executing on offense, the Eagles are hitting on 44.6% from the field, which is 196th in the country. Eastern Michigan has totaled 1,086 pts on the campaign (67.9 per game) and they average 33.5 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 11.1 times per game (330th in college basketball) and they are turning it over 12.0 times per game. The Eagles are responsible for committing 16.4 personal fouls every game and they hit 69.0% from the charity stripe.

The Eagles defensively are ranked 260th in college basketball in points allowed per game with 74.3. They are forcing 10.9 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 45.9% from the floor (324th in college hoops). The Eastern Michigan defense gives up 33.6% on 3-pointers (123 of 366) and opponents are making 69.9% of their foul shots. They have relinquished 13.7 assists and 35.3 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks 250th and 196th in those defensive categories.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Eastern Michigan (-1)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here