The Evansville Aces (14-3) look to extend their 10-game home winning streak when they take on the Drake Bulldogs (5-11), who have dropped seven in a row on the road. The game gets underway at 8:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Jan. 12 and can be seen on ES3.
The Aces enter this game hoping for similar success after dismantling Bradley 67-35 on Saturday. Jaylon Brown fueled the Aces with 14 points, five rebounds, and two assists. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their demoralizing 77-44 loss against Northern Iowa on Saturday. Reed Timmer had a team-high 10 points.
Second-chance opportunities are expected to be few and far between for the Bulldogs in this contest. They rank 310th in the nation in offensive rebounding (OR% of 25.6%), while Evansville is 11th-best in the nation on the defensive backboards (DR% of 76.4%).
Evansville is a big 16-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 143 points. The Aces have gone 14-3 Straight Up (SU) and 6-5-1 Against The Spread (ATS). Over their last 10 games, they have had success covering the spread (5-2). Evansville has consistently been near the top of the nation in terms of field goal percentage, currently ranking third in the nation with a FG% of .522. The Aces, sporting the 24th-best assist-to-turnover ratio in Division I (1.52), have proven themselves to be an extremely efficient offensive team.
As for their opponent, Drake has a SU record of 5-11 and an ATS record of 5-8.
This is the first meeting of the season for these conference foes. The last time they played, Evansville came out on top, but Drake still leads the head-to-head record over their most recent games, 6-4 SU. Additionally, Drake holds the advantage ATS with a record of 8-2. Evansville and Drake each held the edge in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) once in their last five meetings.
Predictions: SU Winner – Evan, ATS Winner – Evan, O/U – Over
Notes
Evansville is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games.
Evansville is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Evansville is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Drake.
Evansville is 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games when playing Drake.
Evansville is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Drake.
Evansville is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Drake.
Evansville averages 79.2 points per game (ranked 63rd). Drake, on the other hand, allows 71.0 points per game (ranked 176th).
Evansville scores 82.7 points per home game (ranked 81st). Drake ranks a poor 164th in points allowed on the road, allowing 74.4 points.
In its last game, Evansville won by a margin of 32 points. Drake is 2-2 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Evansville has a 6-0 record in blowouts.
The Evansville Aces have a defensive rating of 94.2 (ranked 29th), while the Drake Bulldogs have an offensive rating of 104.9 (ranked 189th).
The Evansville Aces have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking third in the nation with a FG% of 52.2%. When their opponents record a similar or higher FG%, the Drake Bulldogs are winless with a 0-1 record.
The Evansville Aces rank higher based on their field goal percentage (third) than their effective field goal percentage (15th). The Drake Bulldogs rank higher based on their effective field goal percentage (56th) than their field goal percentage (76th).
The Evansville Aces rank 24th with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.52, while the Drake Bulldogs rank outside the top 100 (251st) with an A/TO of .93.
Drake ranks 335th in offensive rebounds, while Evansville ranks at 28th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Drake forces a turnover rate of 14.7%. When Evansville turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a stellar 11-3 record.
