Northern Illinois Huskies vs Ball State Cardinals Prediction, 2/15/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northern Illinois Huskies vs Ball State Cardinals

Date: Saturday, February 15, 2025

Location: Worthen Arena in Mount Pleasant, MI

TV: ESPN+

The Northern Illinois Huskies (5-19) are headed to Worthen Arena on Saturday where they will attempt to defeat the Ball State Cardinals (12-12).

The Northern Illinois Huskies stepped onto the hardwood against Buffalo and took a loss by a score of 73-67 in their last game. When it comes to fouls, the Huskies ended up finishing with 14 and Buffalo finished the game with 11 fouls. They also buried 9 of 19 tries from downtown. Buffalo ended up shooting 80.0% from the charity stripe by burying 16 of their 20 tries. On top of that, Buffalo had 33 rebounds (7 offensive, 26 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Buffalo earned 10 assists and had 5 steals for the game. With regard to defending, Northern Illinois let their opponent shoot 44.4% from the field on 24 of 54 shooting. They also dished out 6 assists in the matchup while forcing 12 turnovers and earning 7 steals. With respect to pulling down boards, they collected a total of 31 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Huskies knocked down 11 of their 11 tries for a percentage of 100.0%. Northern Illinois finished the game having earned a 43.3% field goal percentage (26 out of 60) and converted 4 out of their 22 3-point attempts.

Quentin Jones is one guy who was a major factor for this contest. He went 46.7% from the floor and dished out 3 assists. He was on the court for 39 minutes and also totaled 7 boards. He was able to score 18 points on 7 out of 15 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Betting Picks

Northern Illinois will enter this contest with a record of 5-19 this year. They cough up possession 11.2 times per contest and as a team they commit 19.3 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Northern Illinois is collecting 33.0 rebounds per contest and has racked up 300 dimes on the campaign, which is 288th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Huskies are shooting 33.0% on shots from distance (216 of 654) and 70.6% from the free throw line. They average 71.2 points per contest (264th in college hoops) while shooting 41.4% from the floor.

When they are on the defensive end, the Huskies are forcing 13.3 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.9 fouls. They are 225th in college in giving up assists to the opposition with 334 surrendered on the year. The Huskies are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 44.3% (620 of 1,399) and they surrender 41.3 boards per contest as a unit. They give up 36.4% on shots from distance while they are 302nd in college in PPG allowed (76.2).

The last time they took the court, the Ball State Cardinals walked away with a victory by a final of 86-84 when they played Eastern Michigan. In the matter of cleaning up the glass, Ball State allowed Eastern Michigan to pull down 24 in total (7 on the offensive glass). They wrapped up this game 29.4% from three-point range by shooting 5 out of 17 and finished the contest at 13 out of 17 from the free throw line (76.5%). The Cardinals allowed Eastern Michigan to bury 33 out of 59 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 55.9% in the game. When the final whistle was blown, the Cardinals finished 27 for 52 from the field which had them at 51.9%. In relation to three-point shots, Ball State made 7 out of 20 attempts (35.0%). They were able to make 25 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 89.3%. Eastern Michigan had 22 personal fouls for the matchup which took the Cardinals to the free throw line for a total of 28 shots. They also turned it over 15 times, while getting 6 steals for the contest. The Cardinals pulled down 16 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 23 in this matchup.

Jermahri Hill ended up being important for the Cardinals for the game. He earned 21 points in his 39 minutes on the hardwood and accumulated 7 dimes for this contest. He converted 8 of 15 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 53.3%, and accounted for 8 rebounds.

Ball State has a record of 12-12 on the year. In terms of offensive execution, the Cardinals are connecting on 46.4% from the field, which ranks them 94th in college. Ball State has totaled 1,834 points this season (76.4 per game) and they average 35.5 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 13.6 times per game (191st in college) and they turn it over 12.0 times per contest. The Cardinals are committing 16.5 personal fouls per game while shooting 69.4% from the free throw line.

The Ball State defense gives up 31.5% on 3-point shots (181 of 574) and their opposition makes 71.7% of their shots from the charity stripe. They give up 14.4 dimes and 34.0 boards per contest, which is ranked 287th and 164th in those categories on the defensive end. The Cardinals on defense are ranked 263rd in college hoops in points allowed per game with 74.5. They are able to force 10.1 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 44.4% from the field (230th in college).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Northern Illinois

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