The Ball State Cardinals will be at University Arena in Read Fieldhouse to square off against the Western Michigan Broncos in a Mid-American matchup. The game gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Jan. 12 and will air on ES3.
The Broncos fell to Akron 62-53 on Friday. Thomas Wilder finished with 26 points to lead the game. The Cardinals are coming off a 79-73 loss at the hands of Ohio on Saturday. Francis Kiapway had a team-high 21 points.
Over the last five games, Wilder has taken his game to another level for the Broncos, averaging 22.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.6 steals, and 1.4 three-pointers.
Western Michigan, a three-point favorite, will look to capitalize at home against Ball State. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at 136 points. The Broncos have gone 6-9 Straight Up (SU) and 5-5 Against The Spread (ATS).
Over on the other bench, the Cardinals have records of 4-5 ATS and 10-5 SU. The Cardinals allow just 63.9 points per game, ranking them 28th in the nation. Teams seem to consistently miss shots against the Cardinals, who are the 39th-best team in the nation in terms of opponent field goal percentage allowed at .396.
Western Michigan and Ball State will be squaring off for the first time this season. In their most recent meeting a season ago, Western Michigan came out on top, bumping its SU record to 7-3 over Ball State in their most recent meetings. At 5-5, they are even ATS. Neither team held the edge in field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers in a single game during this span.
Predictions: SU Winner – BallSt, ATS Winner – BallSt, O/U – Over
Notes
Western Michigan is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games.
Western Michigan is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games at home.
Western Michigan is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Ball State.
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Western Michigan’s last 11 games when playing Ball State.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Western Michigan’s last 6 games when playing at home against Ball State.
Western Michigan scores an average of just 73.8 points per game (ranked 174th). Ball State ranks 28th in points allowed, giving up 63.9 points per game.
The Ball State Cardinals have a defensive rating of 95.6 (ranked 49th), while the Western Michigan Broncos have an offensive rating of 104.8 (ranked 192nd).
Western Michigan has an average field goal percentage of 44.0%. Ball State is a losing 1-2 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Western Michigan Broncos rank higher based on their field goal percentage (184th) than their effective field goal percentage (194th). The Ball State Cardinals rank higher based on their effective field goal percentage (158th) than their field goal percentage (209th).
Western Michigan, the 69th-ranked team in rebounding, register an average of 39.2 rebounds per game. Ball State does worse, ranked 137th with 37.7.
Ball State ranks 244th in offensive rebounds, while Western Michigan ranks at 69th in defensive rebounds.
Ball State has forced an average turnover percentage of 18.7% this season. Western Michigan has a losing 4-7 record when its TO% is 18.7% or higher.
