UTRGV vs Chicago State 1/13/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Chicago State Cougars and the UTRGV Vaqueros meet in college basketball action from the UTRGV Fieldhouse on Thursday night.

The Chicago State Cougars will look to build on their 58-56 win over Cal Baptist last time out. Brandon Betson leads the Cougars in scoring and assists with 13.5 PPG and 2.9 APG while Jahsean Corbett has 12.4 PPG with 6.8 RPG as the only other double-digit scorer for Chicago State up to this point in the season. Coreyoun Rushin also has 8.9 PPG with a team-high 7.3 RPG to lead the Cougars on the glass. As a team, Chicago State is averaging 60.9 PPG on 37.9% shooting from the field, 30.4% from three and 65.5% from the foul line while allowing 73.9 PPG on 45% shooting from the field and 38.9% from three this season.

The UTRGV Vaqueros will try to snap a four-game losing streak after an 86-75 loss to Stephen F. Austin last time out. Justin Johnson leads the Vaqueros in scoring with 17.1 PPG along with 5.7 RPG while Marek Nelson has 10.6 PPG and 3.9 RPG as the only other double-digit scorer for UTRGV so far this season. Ricky Nelson has 9.3 PPG with a team-high 3.9 APG to lead the Vaqueros in assists and Mike Adewunmi has 9.1 PPG with a team-high 6.5 RPG to lead the Vaqueros on the glass as well this season. As a team, UTRGV is averaging 72.7 PPG on 44.4% shooting from the field, 32.7% from three and 68.8% from the foul line while allowing 79.3 PPG on 45% shooting from the field and 31.2% from three this season.

Chicago State is 8-1 ATS in their last 9 games against a team with a losing record and 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games against a team with a winning percentage below .400 while the over is 4-0 in their last 4 road games. UTRGV is 0-4 ATS in their last 4 home games and 1-5-1 ATS in their last 7 games against a team with a losing record while the over is 4-0 in their last 4 games overall.

I get why UTRGV is favored at home, but the reality for me in this game is that UTRGV has had no luck covering the number at home this season. Granted, the majority of their spots have seen the Vaqueros as underdogs against much better teams, but the lone instance saw UTRGV lose outright to Texas A&M-CC earlier in the year. I’m not saying Chicago State wins outright, but I could see the Cougars sneaking in the backdoor here and getting a cover. Give me Chicago