The No.2-seeded Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners (21-8) and No.7-seeded Chicago State Cougars (4-27) square off in the first round of the WAC tournament at Orleans Arena. Action begins at 7:30 pm ET on Thursday, Mar. 10.
The Roadrunners played well in their last game, blowing out Seattle 93-71 the last time they played. Dedrick Basile was the game’s high scorer with 17 points on 5-for-10 shooting. The Cougars, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after the awful 82-53 loss at the hands of UMKC in their last outing. Trayvon Palmer had a good game for Chicago State, registering six points, nine rebounds, and three assists.
Baskets could be hard to come by as Cal State Bakersfield ranks third in the nation, allowing just 93.8 points per 100 possessions, while Chicago State is 26th (109.1). Also, the Cougars commit the 25th-fewest errors in the nation (TO% of 19.7%), while the ball-hawking defense of the Roadrunners causes the third-most (opponents’ TO% of 21.8%).
The Roadrunners have won both contests against the Cougars this season, including a 71-48 blowout in their last matchup. Basile recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The Roadrunners are looking to build on their records of 21-8 Straight Up (SU) and 8-3 Against The Spread (ATS). Teams have to fight for open shots against the Roadrunners, who have one of the best opponent field-goal percentages in the country at .396.
Over on the other bench, the Cougars are a good bet so far, with a respectable record of 6-4 ATS. Their SU record, 4-27, hasn’t been quite as good. The Chicago State defense has been a problem for competitors, allowing only .453 shooting from the field to its opponents.
The Roadrunners’ win over Chicago State in their last game moved their SU record against Chicago State to 5-2 over their most recent meetings. Furthermore, Cal State Bakersfield leads the matchup ATS with a record of 1-0. Cal State Bakersfield had the advantage in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) twice over the last five games. Chicago State has never had the edge in all three categories.
Predictions: SU Winner – CS-Bk, ATS Winner – CS-Bk
Notes
In its last game, Cal State Bakersfield won by a margin of 22 points. Chicago State is 2-12 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Cal State Bakersfield has a 9-1 record in blowouts.
The Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners have a defensive rating of 93.8 (ranked third), while the Chicago State Cougars have an offensive rating of 93.7 (ranked 336th).
The Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners average a field goal percentage of 45.1% this season. The Chicago State Cougars are a winless 0-16 when opponents have a FG% of 45.1% or greater.
On average, Cal State Bakersfield attempts 15.0 three pointers and Chicago State attempts 23.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners are undefeated at 3-0 while the Chicago State Cougars have a subpar 3-20 record.
Cal State Bakersfield ranks 58th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.27. Chicago State is ranked lower at 306th with an A/TO of .84.
Cal State Bakersfield, the 56th-ranked team in rebounding, register an average of 38.8 rebounds per game. Chicago State does worse, ranked 165th with 36.4.
The Chicago State Cougars rank 42nd in offensive rebounds. The Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners rank 122nd in the nation in defensive rebounds.
Though Chicago State is one of the best in the country in forcing turnovers with opponents averaging a TO% of 20.7% (ranked eighth), Cal State Bakersfield has a solid 5-2 record SU when it has a TO% of 20.7% or greater.
