The Northern Illinois Huskies will travel to Value City Arena to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Dec. 16 and can be seen on BTN.
The Huskies, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 78-71 loss against Missouri on Friday. Marshawn Wilson had a game-high 24 points.
This one isn’t expected to be close when Ohio State, a big 10-point favorite, takes on Northern Illinois. The matchup has an estimated Over/Under (O/U) of 135 points. The Buckeyes enter this game with records of 4-5 Straight Up (SU) and Against The Spread (ATS).
As for their opponent, the Huskies have records of 4-1 ATS and 7-1 SU. The Huskies have controlled the glass with an average of 42.8 rebounds per game, 25th in the country. The Huskies are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking 29th in Division I at 1.49. Moving on to the Northern Illinois defense, the Huskies allow just 62.1 points per game, ranking them 28th in the nation.
Ohio State and Northern Illinois will be facing off for their first head-to-head game in recent seasons.
Predictions: SU Winner – NIU, ATS Winner – NIU, O/U – Over
Notes
Ohio State is 4-8 ATS in its last 12 games.
Ohio State is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games.
Ohio State is 20-5 SU in its last 25 games at home.
Ohio State scores an average of just 72.4 points per game (ranked 204th). Northern Illinois ranks 28th in points allowed, giving up 62.1 points per game.
Ohio State scores just 74.4 points per home game (ranked 242nd). Northern Illinois ranks 59th in points allowed on the road, giving up 68.5 points.
The Northern Illinois Huskies have a defensive rating of 89.3 (ranked 19th), while the Ohio State Buckeyes have an offensive rating of 105.9 (ranked 169th).
The Ohio State Buckeyes average 68.4 possessions per game and 1.059 points per possession, while the Northern Illinois Huskies earn fewer possessions (68.2) but more points per possession (1.143).
The Ohio State Buckeyes average an effective field goal percentage of 53.3% this season. The Northern Illinois Huskies have split their games this season (1-1) when opponents have an eFG% of 53.3% or greater.
Northern Illinois ranks 40th in assists, recording 17.0 per game. Ohio State performs worse at 280th with 11.8 assists per game.
Ohio State, the 27th-ranked team in blocked shots, records an average of 5.8 per game. Northern Illinois does worse, ranked 148th with 3.6.
Ohio State ranks 225th in offensive rebounds, while Northern Illinois ranks 38th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Ohio State makes 5.8 steals per game. Northern Illinois has a winning 4-1 record when it gives up at least 5 steals.
