It will be a battle between Mid-American opponents when the Eastern Michigan Eagles (11-12) welcome the Central Michigan Chippewas (13-10) to Convocation Center. The game begins at 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Feb. 9 and will air on ES3.
The Eagles fell to Buffalo 80-70 on Saturday. James Thompson IV put in a solid effort despite the loss for Eastern Michigan, recording 18 points and 14 rebounds to earn his 14th double-double of the season. The Chippewas, meanwhile, are coming off a 92-87 loss at the hands of Akron on Friday. Luke Meyer played well for Central Michigan, recording 15 points and eight rebounds.
Chris Fowler has been hot for the Chippewas, averaging 16.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.8 three-pointers over the past five games.
This game should be a matchup of contrasting styles. The Eagles (ranked 27th in the nation in possessions per game) prefer an up-and-down style of play, while the Chippewas (280th) are more half-court oriented. Also, the Chippewas commit the sixth-fewest errors in the nation (TO% of 14.4%), while the gambling defense of the Eagles causes the 12th-most (opponents’ TO% of 23.1%).
This is the second game of the year between these two teams, with the Eagles winning the first matchup 99-80. Raven Lee had a stellar game with 32 points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal, and five three-pointers.
The Eagles come into this game 11-12 Straight Up (SU) and 6-10 Against The Spread (ATS). The Eagles have no trouble scoring as they rank 48th in the nation in offense with 78.9 points per game.
On the other side, the Chippewas have 13-10 SU and 7-8-2 ATS records. The Chippewas are an excellent long-range shooting team with 228 three-point shots made (9.0 per game), ranking 20th in Division I. The Chippewas are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking 28th in Division I at 1.42. The last 10 games have really brought the worst out of the Chippewas on the defensive end. They allowed 80.9 points per game during that span, which is higher than their season average of 72.6. The Chippewas are in for a physical game against Eastern Michigan. The Eagles are not afraid to send opponents to the free throw line, averaging 21.6 fouls per game.
In their previous meeting this season, Eastern Michigan beat Central Michigan, bringing the head-to-head record to an even 5-5 SU over their most recent meetings. However, Eastern Michigan leads the matchup ATS with a record of 6-3-1. Over the last five matchups, Central Michigan held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers twice. Eastern Michigan performed this feat once.
Predictions: SU Winner – EastMi, ATS Winner – EastMi
Notes
Eastern Michigan averages 78.9 points per game (ranked 48th). Central Michigan, on the other hand, allows 72.6 points per game (ranked 164th).
Eastern Michigan scores 84.4 points per home game (ranked 30th). Central Michigan ranks a poor 160th in points allowed on the road, allowing 75.9 points.
Ranked 22nd, the Central Michigan Chippewas have an offensive rating of 115.4. The Eastern Michigan Eagles rank 138th with a defensive rating of just 101.6.
Eastern Michigan has an average field goal percentage of 44.1%. Central Michigan is a poor 5-9 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Eastern Michigan Eagles rank higher based on their field goal percentage (165th) than their effective field goal percentage (241st). The Central Michigan Chippewas rank higher based on their effective field goal percentage (38th) than their field goal percentage (107th).
Central Michigan ranks 28th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.42. Eastern Michigan is ranked lower at 255th with an A/TO of .94.
The Central Michigan Chippewas make an average of 4.9 steals per game. The Eastern Michigan Eagles are an 11-10 when they give up 4 or more steals.
