Ball State Cardinals vs Central Michigan Chippewas Prediction, 1/21/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Ball State Cardinals vs Central Michigan Chippewas

Date: Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Location: McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant, MI

TV: ESPN+

McGuirk Arena is the site where the Central Michigan Chippewas (8-9) will attempt to defeat the Ball State Cardinals (8-9) on Tuesday.

The Ball State Cardinals faced Toledo and took a loss by a final of 93-75 in their last game. When talking about personal fouls, the Cardinals finished with 16 while Toledo finished the game with 18 personal fouls. They converted 6 of their 16 tries from beyond the arc. Toledo ended up shooting 88.2% when shooting free throws by knocking down 15 of 17 tries. On top of that, Toledo collected 35 rebounds (15 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Toledo earned 10 dimes and had 3 steals in the game. When it comes to the defense, Ball State allowed their opponent to shoot 53.7% from the field on 36 of 67 shooting. They also doled out 15 assists in this game in addition to forcing the other team into 5 turnovers and earning 4 steals. In terms of rebounding, they collected 23 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. From the charity stripe, the Cardinals converted 13 of 21 tries for a percentage of 61.9%. Ball State walked away from the contest having earned a 53.7% field goal percentage (29 of 54) and made 4 of their 16 3-point attempts.

Payton Sparks is a player who had an impact for this contest. He shot 75.0% from the floor and also distributed 1 assist. He played for 29 minutes played and also collected 9 boards. He was able to score 20 points on 9 out of 12 shooting.

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Ball State will enter this contest with a mark of 8-9 on the campaign. They are averaging 75.9 pts per game (159th in college hoops) while hitting 46.1% from the field. The Cardinals are connecting on 34.3% on shots beyond the perimeter (124 of 361) and 69.8% from the charity stripe. As a team, Ball State is grabbing 35.8 boards per contest and has racked up 224 assists so far this season, which is 297th in college in terms of passing the ball. They cough up possession 12.1 times per game and as a unit they are committing 16.6 fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Cardinals are forcing their opponents into 10.4 turnovers per game while drawing 20.0 fouls. They currently rank 124th in college in allowing assists to their opponents with 224 surrendered for the year. The Cardinals defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 42.9% (435 of 1,013) and they concede 34.5 rebounds per game as a group. They give up 31.2% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 237th in college in points per game allowed (73.0).

The last time they took the court, the Central Michigan Chippewas walked away with a victory by a final of 71-66 against Northern Illinois. The Chippewas were able to collect 24 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 35 in this matchup. They gave up possession of the ball 14 times, while getting 7 steals for this game. Northern Illinois was called for 12 fouls for the contest which took the Chippewas to the free throw line for a total of 11 attempts. They were able to make 7 of those for a rate of 63.6%. With respect to 3-pointers, Central Michigan made 6 out of their 14 attempts (42.9%). When this game wrapped up, the Chippewas went 29 for 60 from the floor which gave them a rate of 48.3%. The Chippewas allowed Northern Illinois to make 23 of 54 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 42.6% for the game. They went 48.1% from distance by connecting on 13 out of 27 and finished the game at 7 out of 15 at the free throw line (46.7%). Regarding cleaning the glass, Central Michigan permitted Northern Illinois to pull down 23 in total (6 on the offensive side).

Jakobi Heady ended up having an impact for the Chippewas for the contest. He buried 8 of 16 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and had 9 rebounds. He tallied 16 points in his 39 mins on the court and had 1 assist in this matchup.

Central Michigan has a mark of 8-9 on the season. In terms of offensive execution, the Chippewas are hitting on 45.3% from the field, which has them ranked 157th in the nation. Central Michigan has accounted for 1,245 points on the season (73.2 per contest) and they snag 37.2 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 13.9 times per game (175th in the nation) and they turn the ball over 13.4 times per game. The Chippewas are committing 16.5 personal fouls every game and they connect on 71.9% from the free throw line.

The Chippewas on the defensive end are ranked 139th in Division 1 in points allowed per game with 70.1. They have forced 13.1 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 42.2% from the floor (122nd in college). The Central Michigan defense allows 31.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter (139 of 445) and their opposition makes 68.8% of their shots from the charity stripe. They concede 14.1 assists and 32.4 total rebounds per game, which is 260th and 74th in those defensive categories.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Central Michigan

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