The Northeastern Huskies (12-13) are currently on a six-game losing streak and will meet the Towson Tigers (17-8) at SECU Arena. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Thursday, Feb. 11.
The Tigers come into this game on a high note after topping Elon 81-77 the last time they played. Arnaud William Adala Moto led all scorers on the team with 27 points on 9-for-13 shooting. The Huskies, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 90-73 loss against UNC Wilmington in their last outing. Quincy Ford accounted for 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Over the last five games, Mike Morsell has taken his game to another level for the Tigers. During that stretch, he has averaged 16.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.0 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 1.8 three-pointers.
The Tigers do a great job at getting to the charity stripe. They rank fourth in the nation in FTA rate (49.1), but Northeastern is among the best in the nation at keeping opponents off the line (ranking 34th by allowing a FTA rate of 28.9).
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Tigers won the first game 79-72. David Walker had a standout performance with 32 points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal, and five three-pointers in the loss.
The Tigers enter the game with records of 17-8 Straight Up (SU) and 8-9 Against The Spread (ATS). In their last 10 games, they are 2-8 ATS. The rebounding edge goes to the Tigers in this matchup, who are one of the top rebounding teams in the nation with an average of 39.8 boards per game. As for the Towson defense, it’s been a struggle for opposing teams to score on the Tigers. The 66.2 points that Towson’s defense allows per game makes them the 43rd-ranked defense in the country. An area where the Tigers are particularly strong is shot blocking, where they average 4.8 blocks per game, 44th in Division I.
Across the court, the Huskies have records of 9-13 ATS and 12-13 SU. Northeastern is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation, hitting 8.0 shots from three-point range per game.
Towson beat Northeastern in their most recent meeting this season, but Northeastern still leads the head-to-head record over their most recent games, 8-2 SU. With a 6-4 record, the Tigers have the advantage ATS. Neither team held the edge in field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers in a single game during this span.
Predictions: SU Winner – Towson, ATS Winner – Towson
Notes
Northeastern averages 73.8 points per game, placing the team just 137th in the nation. Towson ranks 43rd in points allowed, giving up 66.2 points per game.
The Towson Tigers have a defensive rating of 98.6 (ranked 83rd), while the Northeastern Huskies have an offensive rating of 106.6 (ranked 157th).
Northeastern has an average field goal percentage of 43.9%. Towson is a solid 5-3 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Towson Tigers rank higher based on their field goal percentage (253rd) than their effective field goal percentage (285th). The Northeastern Huskies rank higher based on their effective field goal percentage (101st) than their field goal percentage (177th).
Northeastern ranks 81st in assists, recording 15.2 per game. Towson performs worse at 314th with 11.2 assists per game.
Towson, the 44th-ranked team in blocked shots, records an average of 4.8 per game. Northeastern does worse, ranked 172nd with 3.4.
Towson is one of the best teams in the country when it comes to offensive rebounds, ranking 14th. Northeastern ranks just 230th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Northeastern forces a turnover rate of 18.8%. When Towson turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a solid 8-3 record.
