Ball State Cardinals vs Bowling Green Falcons Prediction, 3/1/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Ball State Cardinals vs Bowling Green Falcons

Date: Saturday, March 1, 2025

Location: Stroh Center in Blacksburg, VA

TV: ESPN+

The Bowling Green Falcons (12-16) welcome the Ball State Cardinals (14-14) at Stroh Center on Saturday.

The Ball State Cardinals played Akron and took a loss by a final of 87-82 in their last game. With respect to fouls, the Cardinals ended up finishing with 17 and Akron totaled 20 fouls. They also buried 9 out of their 30 tries from 3-point land. Akron ended up shooting 76.9% from the free throw line by converting 10 of their 13 tries. On top of that, Akron collected 35 boards (10 offensive, 25 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Akron distributed 16 assists and had 3 steals in the game. With regard to the defense, Ball State let their opponent shoot 50.7% from the field on 34 out of 67 shooting. They also doled out 15 assists in this contest in addition to forcing the other team into 7 turnovers and getting 5 steals. Concerning rebounding, they compiled 26 with 5 of them being offensive. When they shot from the free throw line, the Cardinals knocked down 16 of 21 attempts for a percentage of 76.2%. Ball State finished the contest with a 45.9% field goal percentage (28 out of 61) and knocked down 10 out of their 22 3-pointers.

Jermahri Hill is someone who had an impact for the game. He ended up with 26 points on 9 out of 14 shooting. He played for 38 mins played and snagged 3 rebounds. He shot 64.3% from the field and totaled 1 assist.

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Ball State will enter this matchup with a win-loss record of 14-14 for the season. They have an average of 76.8 points per contest (99th in Division 1) while hitting 46.3% from the floor. The Cardinals are shooting 35.5% on shots from beyond the arc (204 of 575) and 70.1% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Ball State is collecting 35.4 boards per game and is sitting with 375 dimes this season, which is 215th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They turn it over 11.8 times per game and as a squad are committing 16.6 fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Cardinals are able to force 10.2 turnovers per contest and they draw 20.4 fouls. They rank 256th in the country in allowing assists to their opponents with 397 relinquished for the year. The Cardinals are giving up a shooting percentage of 44.4% (749 of 1,686) and they surrender 34.0 rebounds per contest as a team. They are relinquishing 31.0% on shots from distance and they rank 262nd in college in opponents points per game (74.7).

In their last game, the Bowling Green Falcons took home the win by a final score of 65-60 against Eastern Michigan. The Falcons were able to snag 23 defensive rebounds and 3 offensive rebounds for a total of 26 in this matchup. They turned it over 14 times, while earning 7 steals in this game. Eastern Michigan had 17 fouls for this contest which took the Falcons to the charity stripe for 16 shots. They were able to convert 10 of them for a percentage of 62.5%. In terms of three-point attempts, Bowling Green converted 9 of their 17 tries (52.9%). In all, the Falcons walked away from this one shooting 23 out of 50 from the floor which gave them a rate of 46.0%. The Falcons allowed Eastern Michigan to convert 26 of their 63 attempts from the field which left them shooting 41.3% for the contest. They finished 21.4% from 3-point land by shooting 6 out of 28 and walked away from this one shooting 2 of 4 at the free throw line (50.0%). Regarding rebounds, Bowling Green allowed Eastern Michigan to grab 37 overall (13 on the offensive glass).

Javontae Campbell was important for the Falcons for the matchup. He made 7 out of 12 in this game for a rate of 58.3%, and had 5 rebounds. He earned 25 points in his 37 mins on the court and accounted for 7 assists for the contest.

Bowling Green has a mark of 12-16 this season. The Falcons are committing 17.7 fouls per contest and they hit 75.0% from the free throw line. Their rate of earning assists is at 11.4 times per contest (334th in college hoops) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 12.0 times per contest. Bowling Green has totaled 2,090 pts this season (74.6 per contest) and they snag 33.8 rebounds per game. As an offensive unit, the Falcons are shooting 43.9% from the floor, which is ranked 233rd in the country.

The Falcons on the defensive end are ranked 272nd in the country in points per game surrendered with 74.9. They are forcing their opponents into 13.1 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 45.4% from the floor (279th in college). The Bowling Green defense concedes 32.1% on 3-point attempts (218 of 679) and opponents are converting on 78.5% of their foul shots. They give up 14.3 dimes and 35.4 boards per contest, which ranks them 278th and 246th in Division 1.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Ball State

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