The Western Michigan Broncos will be at Savage Arena to play the Toledo Rockets in a Mid-American matchup. The game gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Feb. 2 and will air on ES3.
The Rockets were beaten by Buffalo 73-68 on Saturday. Nathan Boothe recorded 15 points and 12 rebounds, earning his ninth double-double of the year. The Broncos are coming off a 94-86 win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday. Thomas Wilder had a good game and claimed his first double-double of the season, posting 35 points and 10 rebounds.
Over the last five games, Wilder has been on a tear for the Broncos. During that stretch, he has averaged 20.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.2 steals, and 1.6 three-pointers.
Second-chance points might be scarce for the Rockets in this matchup. They rank 268th in the nation in offensive rebounding (OR% of 27.5%), while Western Michigan is 22nd-best in the nation on the defensive glass (DR% of 75.0%). Furthermore, getting to the line could play a crucial role for the Broncos. They rank 14th in the nation in FTA rate (45.8). However, the Rockets are among the best in the nation at keeping opponents off the charity stripe (ranking 35th at 28.7).
Toledo is a six-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 153 points. The Rockets are attempting to build on their records of 12-9 Straight Up (SU) and 9-9 Against The Spread (ATS). Spreading the ball around is a huge part of Toledo’s offense. They are 24th in the nation in assists with an average of 16.7 per game. Toledo is very careful and attentive with the ball, averaging the 47th-fewest turnovers per game at only 11.4.
On the other side, the Broncos head into the game with records of 8-8 ATS and 9-12 SU.
These conference rivals will be facing off in their first head-to-head clash of the season. When they last met the Rockets were winners, but Western Michigan still leads the head-to-head record over their most recent games, 7-3 SU. Additionally, with a 6-4 record, Western Michigan has the advantage ATS. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers, neither team was able to hold the advantage in all three of these categories over their past five meetings against one another.
Predictions: SU Winner – Toledo, ATS Winner – Toledo, O/U – Over
Notes
Toledo is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Toledo’s last 6 games.
Toledo is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games.
Toledo is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games at home.
Toledo is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Western Michigan.
Toledo is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Western Michigan.
Toledo is 12-4-1 ATS in its last 17 games when playing at home against Western Michigan.
Both Toledo and Western Michigan are a poor 3-5 SU against conference foes.
Toledo scores 82.1 points per home game (ranked 66th). Western Michigan ranks a poor 144th in points allowed on the road, allowing 73.6 points.
On average, Toledo has 70.7 possessions per game and scores 1.107 points on each possession. Western Michigan has both fewer possessions (70.4) and scores fewer points during those possessions (1.069).
Toledo has an average effective field goal percentage of 52.7%. Western Michigan is 4-5 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, the Toledo Rockets attempt 23.0 three point field goals per game and the Western Michigan Broncos attempt 19.0. In games where they attempt at least 20 threes, Toledo has a 7-8 record and Western Michigan has a 5-4 record.
The Toledo Rockets rank 21st with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.46, while the Western Michigan Broncos rank outside the top 100 (246th) with an A/TO of .95.
Western Michigan ranks 156th in offensive rebounds, while Toledo ranks at 61st in defensive rebounds.
Toledo averages a forced turnover rate of 17.0% this season. Western Michigan has a 6-7 record when it suffers a turnover rate equal to or exceeding this.
