The Toledo Rockets (16-11) welcome the Ball State Cardinals (18-9) in a matchup that pits the Mid-American’s 10th-ranked offense against the fourth-ranked defense. The game starts at 8:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Feb. 23 and can be seen on EFC and ES3.
The Rockets are hoping for a better outcome after their 91-85 loss to Eastern Michigan on Saturday. Jonathan Williams was the game’s high scorer, contributing 24 points. The Cardinals, meanwhile, are coming off a 63-59 win over Northern Illinois on Friday. Bo Calhoun claimed his eighth double-double of the season with 10 points and 15 rebounds.
Second-chance opportunities are expected to be few and far between for the Cardinals in this contest. They rank 285th in the nation in offensive rebounding (OR% of 26.8%), while Toledo is eighth-best in the nation on the defensive backboards (DR% of 76.2%).
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Cardinals won the first game 87-69. Ryan Weber was a standout player in the game, producing 21 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one block, and four three-pointers.
The Rockets have gone 16-11 Straight Up (SU) and 13-11 Against The Spread (ATS). Toledo has averaged 71.1 points per game over the last 10 games, lower than its season average of 79.0. The Rockets are one of the best in Division I in terms of free throw percentage, shooting a superb .747 from the free throw line. Few teams in the nation have a higher assist-to-turnover ratio than Toledo, which ranks 19th at 1.48.
Over on the other bench, the Cardinals head into the game with records of 10-11 ATS and 18-9 SU. During the last 10 games, they averaged 76.6 PPG, above their 70.2 PPG season average. The Cardinals convert their three-pointers at a high percentage, ranking 38th in the nation at .381.
Ball State won the last meeting this season between these two teams, but the win was not enough to overtake Toledo in their recent head-to-head series. Its record is now 4-6 SU over the most recent meetings. The Cardinals lead the matchup ATS with a record of 6-4. Ball State held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers once, while Toledo was never able to do so in their most recent five games.
Predictions: SU Winner – Toledo, ATS Winner – Toledo
Notes
The Toledo Rockets average 79.0 points per game, ranking 43rd in the nation. The Ball State Cardinals rank 33rd in points allowed with 65.4.
The Toledo Rockets rank 50th for their offensive rating of 112.6. The Ball State Cardinals have a defensive rating of 98.3 (ranked 62nd).
Toledo has an average field goal percentage of 46.3%. Ball State is an underachieving 1-5 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Toledo Rockets and the Ball State Cardinals both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Toledo is 66th and 49th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Ball State is 148th and 74th in these categories.
Ranked 21st in the nation, Toledo has an average of 16.8 assists per game. Ball State ranks lower at 103rd with 14.6.
Toledo ranks 255th in offensive rebounds, while Ball State ranks 86th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Toledo makes 5.3 steals per game. Ball State has an exceptional 15-5 record when it gives up at least 5 steals.
