The Valparaiso Crusaders will travel to John E. Worthen Arena to take on the Ball State Cardinals. The game gets underway at 2:00 pm ET on Saturday, Nov. 28 and will air on ES3.
The Cardinals easily got past Indiana-Kokomo 90-54 on Wednesday. Franko House was the team’s leading scorer with 16 points on 5-for-9 shooting. The Crusaders, meanwhile, are coming off a 63-57 win against Oregon State on Tuesday. Shane Hammink stood out for Valparaiso, registering 15 points, six rebounds, and three steals.
Ball State is a nine-point underdog in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 134 points. The Cardinals enter the game with records of 4-2 Straight Up (SU) and 1-2 Against The Spread (ATS).
Over on the other bench, the Crusaders have 6-1 SU and 4-1 ATS records. The Crusaders are getting to the foul line at a high rate. Their 118 free throws made ranks 18th in Division I. Shifting to the other side of the court, the Crusaders allow just 55.6 points per game, ranking them fifth in the nation. The Crusaders have one of the best opponent field-goal percentages in the nation at .350.
These two will be facing off in their first head-to-head contest of the season. When they last met the Crusaders were winners, bringing their SU record to 4-2. With a 3-2 record, the Crusaders also have the advantage ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – BallSt, ATS Winner – BallSt, O/U – Under
Notes
Ball State is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games.
Ball State is 4-19 SU in its last 23 games.
Ball State is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Valparaiso.
Valparaiso averages 73.7 points per game, placing the team just 208th in the nation. Ball State ranks 62nd in points allowed, giving up 63.3 points per game.
Valparaiso scores just 62.7 points per away game (ranked 244th). Ball State ranks 53rd in points allowed at home, giving up 56.7 points.
The Valparaiso Crusaders have a defensive rating of 81.4 (ranked 10th), while the Ball State Cardinals have an offensive rating of 110.9 (ranked 116th).
The Valparaiso Crusaders average 67.9 possessions per game and 1.086 points per possession. The Ball State Cardinals earn fewer possessions with 67.2, but they score more points with 1.109.
Ball State has an average effective field goal percentage of 50.4%. Valparaiso is undefeated (1-0) when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, Ball State attempts 19.0 three pointers and Valparaiso attempts 19.0. Both teams have winning records when they have 20 or more three point attempts. The Ball State Cardinals sit at 2-1 and the Valparaiso Crusaders are 3-1.
Valparaiso, the 88th-ranked team in rebounding, registers an average of 40.6 rebounds per game. Ball State does worse, ranked 152nd with 38.5.
Valparaiso makes 8.4 steals per game. In games where it allows 8 or more steals, Ball State is undefeated at 1-0.
