The Eastern Michigan Eagles (15-14) look to extend their five-game home winning streak when they take on the Northern Illinois Huskies (19-10), who have dropped seven in a row on the road. The game begins at 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Mar. 1 and can be seen on ES3.
The Eagles got blown out by Ball State 115-79 on Saturday. Brandon Nazione was the team’s leading scorer with 22 points. The Huskies are coming off a 76-67 win over Western Michigan on Saturday. Marin Maric had a good game for Northern Illinois, posting 16 points, nine rebounds, and six blocks.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Huskies won the first game 80-63. Despite the loss, James Thompson IV was a top performer in the game with 23 points, eight rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block.
The Eagles are attempting to build on their records of 15-14 Straight Up (SU) and 10-12 Against The Spread (ATS). Eastern Michigan has averaged 69.6 points per game over the last 10 games, lower than its season average of 78.2. The Eagles are one of the best in Division I in terms of free throws made, making a superb 18.0 per game. Turning to the defensive side, the Eagles are fourth in the country in steals with 9.4 per game.
In the other locker room, the Huskies have 19-10 SU and 14-10 ATS records. Northern Illinois is one of the better rebounding teams in Division I. The Huskies average 39.8 rebounds per game, making them the 37th-best team in the country for that category. The last 10 games have really brought the worst out of the Huskies on the defensive end. They allowed 79.0 points per game during that span, which is higher than their season average of 67.0. Teams seem to consistently miss shots against the Huskies, who are the 23rd-best team in the nation in terms of opponent field goal percentage allowed at .397.
With the Huskies’ last win against Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois moved closer to evening up its record against Eastern Michigan. It now stands at 3-7 SU over their most recent meetings. The Huskies hold the advantage ATS with a record of 7-3. Northern Illinois held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers once in the last five game, while Eastern Michigan wasn’t able to do so in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – NIU, ATS Winner – NIU
Notes
The Eastern Michigan Eagles average 78.2 points per game, ranking 52nd in the nation. The Northern Illinois Huskies rank 55th in points allowed with 67.0.
In its last game, Eastern Michigan lost by a margin of 36 points. Northern Illinois is 5-0 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Eastern Michigan has a 6-4 record in blowouts.
On average, Eastern Michigan has 72.3 possessions per game and scores 1.081 points on each possession. Northern Illinois has both fewer possessions (69.1) and scores fewer points during those possessions (1.064).
Northern Illinois has an average effective field goal percentage of 48.9%. Eastern Michigan is a subpar 4-11 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
The Eastern Michigan Eagles average 18.0 three point attempts per game and are 5-6 when attempting at least 20 in a game. The Northern Illinois Huskies average 19.0 attempts and have a solid record (11-4) when attempting 20 or more.
Northern Illinois, the 37th-ranked team in rebounding, registers an average of 39.8 rebounds per game. Eastern Michigan does worse, ranked 187th with 35.9.
The Northern Illinois Huskies rank 56th in offensive rebounds. The Eastern Michigan Eagles rank 263rd in the nation in defensive rebounds.
Eastern Michigan ranks 11th in forced turnovers with an average rate of 22.4%. Northern Illinois has a 3-2 record when it suffers a turnover rate equal to or exceeding this.
