Eastern Illinois vs Belmont 1/24/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Belmont Bruins will travel to Lantz Arena to take on the Eastern Illinois Panthers this Monday night in College Basketball action.

The Belmont Bruins dropped to 14-5 on the season after being defeated by the Morehead State Eagles, 83-74, this past Thursday. Belmont had no answers defensively for Morehead State in this one and could not fight back after a 6-0 Eagles run gave Morehead State a 58-41 lead with 11:57 left in regulation. Belmont shot 41.0% from the field & 33.3% from beyond the arc while allowing Morehead State to shoot 45.9% from the field & 50.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Bruins was Ben Sheppard who had 18 points, 6 rebounds, & 4 assists.

On the season, Belmont is averaging 80.8 ppg on 49.5% shooting from the field. The Bruins are averaging 9.0 three-pointers per game on 35.2% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Belmont has been led by Ben Sheppard (15.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.7 apg), Nick Muszynski (15.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.8 bpg), Will Richard (12.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.3 spg), & Grayson Murphy (8.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 5.9 apg, 2.3 spg).

Defensively, Belmont is allowing their opponents to average 71.4 ppg on 43.7% shooting from the field. The Bruins have a rebound margin of 0.9 and a turnover margin of 2.4.

The Eastern Illinois Panthers lost their 9^th straight game and dropped to 2-16 on the season after being defeated by the SE Missouri State Redhawks, 87-58, this past Saturday. Eastern Illinois struggled on both ends of the court against SE Missouri State and had no chance of fighting back into the game after going into halftime trailing by a 51-32 margin. Eastern Illinois shot 38.0% from the field & 37.5% from beyond the arc while allowing SE Missouri State to shoot 49.2% from the field & 42.9% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Panthers was Dan Luers who had 14 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, & 3 steals.

On the season, Eastern Illinois is averaging 55.7 ppg on 38.5% shooting from the field. The Panthers are averaging 6.4 three-pointers per game on 32.2% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Eastern Illinois has been led by Kejuan Clements (8.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.0 spg), Kashawn Charles (8.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.4 apg), CJ Lane (7.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg), & Dan Luers (5.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.1 spg).

Defensively, Eastern Illinois is allowing their opponents to an average of 72.1 ppg on 44.7% shooting from the field. The Panthers have a rebound margin of -8.8 and a turnover margin of -4.1.

The Bruins are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games, however, are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games vs. OVC opponents. The Panthers are 1-5 ATS in their las 6 games & 0-5 ATS in their last 5 home games.

Belmont has been led by their offense which currently ranks 15^th in scoring offense, 10^th in FG%, & 52^nd in three-pointers made per game, however, the Bruins have struggled defensively and currently rank just 243^rd in scoring defense & 225^th in defensive FG%. Eastern Illinois has had issues on both ends of the court this season and come into this matchup ranked just 349^th in scoring offense, 342^nd in FG%, & 265^th in scoring defense.

Belmont hasn’t been nearly as strong on the road this season, however, it’s hard not to imagine that the Bruins won’t be able to dominate Eastern Illinois is all aspects of the game in this one. Eastern Illinois has lost their last three games by an average of 35.0 ppg and as I think the Bruins offense will be able to put up around 90 points in this one, I think they do enough to cover this large spread. Good Luck!