Central Michigan Chippewas vs Ball State Cardinals Prediction, 3/4/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Central Michigan Chippewas vs Ball State Cardinals

Date: Tuesday, March 4, 2025

Location: Worthen Arena in Blacksburg, VA

TV: ESPN+

The Central Michigan Chippewas (13-16) are hitting the road to Worthen Arena on Tuesday where they will play the Ball State Cardinals (14-15).

The Central Michigan Chippewas took the court against Eastern Michigan and took a loss by a score of 84-73 in their last contest. When it comes to fouls, the Chippewas finished with 18 and Eastern Michigan accumulated 20 fouls. They buried 12 of 28 attempts from distance. Eastern Michigan shot 84.2% at the charity stripe by knocking down 16 of 19 attempts. Additionally, Eastern Michigan grabbed 36 boards (14 offensive, 22 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Eastern Michigan totaled 14 dimes and had 3 steals in this matchup. Pertaining to defending, Central Michigan allowed the other team to go 45.9% from the floor on 28 of 61 shooting. They also recorded 12 dimes for this contest while forcing 12 turnovers and having 7 steals. In terms of grabbing rebounds, they compiled 31 with 11 of them being offensive. When they shot from the free throw line, the Chippewas buried 18 of their 24 tries for a rate of 75.0%. Central Michigan ended the game having earned a 44.1% FG percentage (26 of 59) and converted 3 of 16 three-point shots.

Ugnius Jarusevicius is one guy who had an impact in the matchup. He finished the game shooting 58.8% from the field but wasn't able to get a dime. He saw the court for 35 mins and also pulled down 11 rebounds. He walked away with 23 points on 10 of 17 shooting.

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Central Michigan comes into this one with a win-loss mark of 13-16 so far this season. They currently have an average of 75.6 points per game (133rd in Division 1) while shooting 46.2% from the field. The Chippewas are shooting 32.4% on shots from downtown (189 of 583) and 72.6% from the free throw line. As a unit, Central Michigan is collecting 36.2 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 400 assists for the campaign, which ranks 199th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession by turning the ball over 12.2 times per contest and as a group they are committing 16.5 personal fouls per game.

When they are on defense, the Chippewas are forcing 12.9 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.9 fouls. They are ranked 219th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 401 conceded for the campaign. The Chippewas are allowing a shooting percentage of 43.6% (741 of 1,700) and they concede 32.5 boards per game as a team. They are relinquishing 33.5% on shots from distance and they rank 185th in college in points per game from their opponents (72.0).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Ball State Cardinals took a loss by a final score of 61-52 against Bowling Green. When discussing attacking the glass, Ball State permitted Bowling Green to snag 36 in total (5 on the offensive side). They finished the game shooting 26.3% from distance by going 5 of 19 and ended up shooting 10 of 12 from the free throw line (83.3%). The Cardinals allowed Bowling Green to bury 23 out of 56 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.1% in this contest. Overall, the Cardinals went 20 for 59 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 33.9%. In terms of 3-point attempts, Ball State buried 6 of their 23 tries (26.1%). They were able to convert 6 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 85.7%. Bowling Green was called for 15 personal fouls for this game which took the Cardinals to the charity stripe for a total of 7 attempts. They also coughed up the ball 10 times, while getting 2 steals in this matchup. The Cardinals were able to pull down 25 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 31 for the game.

Mickey Pearson Jr. ended up having an impact for the Cardinals in the matchup. He knocked down 6 of 12 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and had 4 rebounds. He recorded 15 points in his 30 minutes on the court and accumulated 2 assists for the matchup.

Ball State has a mark of 14-15 for the season. As an offense, the Cardinals are shooting 45.8% from the field, which ranks them 119th in the nation. Ball State has scored 2,203 pts so far this year (76.0 per contest) and they collect 35.4 rebounds per contest. They are earning an assist 13.4 times per contest (207th in the country) and they cough up possession 11.7 times per game. The Cardinals are responsible for committing 16.5 fouls per game and they shoot 70.2% from the free throw line.

The Cardinals on the defensive end are ranked 253rd in D-1 in points allowed per game with 74.2. They are forcing 10.1 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 44.3% from the field (216th in college). The Ball State defense surrenders 30.9% on shots from behind the 3-point line (215 of 696) and their opposition knocks down 72.4% of their foul shots. They have given up 14.0 dimes and 34.1 rebounds every game, which ranks them 260th and 175th in college.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Ball State

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