The Northern Illinois Huskies will be at John E. Worthen Arena to play the Ball State Cardinals in a Mid-American matchup. The game begins at 6:30 pm ET on Friday, Feb. 19 and will air on CCS.
The Cardinals were victorious over Miami (OH) 73-56 on Tuesday. Franko House led all scorers on the team with 19 points on 3-for-8 shooting. The Huskies, meanwhile, are coming off a 71-60 win over Bowling Green on Tuesday. Marshawn Wilson had a good game for Northern Illinois, accounting for 12 points, three steals, and three assists.
The Cardinals enter the game with records of 17-9 Straight Up (SU) and 9-11 Against The Spread (ATS). Ball State is excellent from the perimeter, shooting a superb .385 from three-point range. As for the Ball State defense, teams routinely struggle to score points against the Cardinals, who allow only 65.7 points per game.
Over on the other bench, the Huskies have 18-8 SU and 13-8 ATS records. The Huskies are a force on the boards, grabbing an average of 39.9 rebounds per game. The Northern Illinois defense has been a problem for competitors, allowing only .396 shooting from the field to its opponents.
Ball State and Northern Illinois meet for what will be their first head-to-head battle of the season. Northern Illinois won the last game in the matchup, but the win was not enough to overtake Ball State in their recent head-to-head series. Its record is now 4-6 SU over the most recent meetings. The Huskies lead the matchup ATS with a record of 8-1-1. During their latest five matchups, neither team ever held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers.
Predictions: SU Winner – NIU, ATS Winner – NIU
Notes
Ball State averages 70.5 points per game, placing the team just 187th in the nation. Northern Illinois ranks 51st in points allowed, giving up 66.8 points per game.
Ball State scores just 69.4 points per home game (ranked 225th). Northern Illinois ranks 88th in points allowed on the road, giving up 72.1 points.
The Northern Illinois Huskies have a defensive rating of 95.3 (ranked 24th), while the Ball State Cardinals have an offensive rating of 105.4 (ranked 187th).
Northern Illinois beats Ball State in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Huskies average 69.5 possessions and 1.069 points per possession, while the Cardinals average 66.9 possessions with 1.054 points per possession.
Northern Illinois has an average effective field goal percentage of 49.3%. Ball State is a subpar 2-7 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
Northern Illinois ranks 97th in assists, recording 14.8 per game. Ball State performs worse at 106th with 14.5 assists per game.
Ball State ranks 305th in offensive rebounds, while Northern Illinois ranks 54th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Ball State makes 6.1 steals per game. Northern Illinois has a solid 11-7 record when it gives up at least 6 steals.
