Western Illinois vs North Dakota 2/12/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The North Dakota Fighting Hawks will travel to LeRoy A. Ufkes Court at Western Hall to take on the Western Illinois Leathernecks this Saturday afternoon in College Basketball action.

The North Dakota Fighting Hawks won their 2^nd straight game and improved to 6-20 on the season after defeating the St. Thomas (MN) Tommies, 78-70, this past Thursday. North Dakota trailed by a 36-34 margin at halftime, however, the Fighting Hawks were outstanding on the offensive end in the 2^nd half against St. Thomas (MN) and was able to pull away for the victory after taking a 67-50 lead with 7:05 left in regulation. North Dakota shot 49.1% from the field & 50.0% from beyond the arc while allowing St. Thomas (MN) to shoot 43.3% from the field & 29.2% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Fighting Hawks was Paul Burns who had a double-double with a 22 points, 14 rebounds, 1 assist, & 1 block.

On the season, North Dakota is averaging 71.0 ppg on 40.8% shooting from the field. The Fighting Hawks are averaging 8.8 three-pointers per game on 33.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, North Dakota has been led by Paul Burns (14.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.1 spg), Caleb Nero (9.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.9 apg), Matt Norman (8.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.0 apg), & Ethan Igbanugo (8.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.4 apg).

Defensviely, North Dakota is averaging 71.0 ppg on 40.8% shooting from the field. The Fighting Hawks are averaging 8.8 three-pointers per game on 33.6% shooting from beyond the arc.

The Western Illinois Leathernecks lost their 2^nd straight game and dropped to 14-11 on the season after being defeated by the North Dakota State Bison, 84-81 (2OT), this past Thursday. Western Illinois was able to force OT after Colton Sandage hit a pair of FT’s with :20 seconds left in regulation, however, the Leathernecks could not fight back after a Sam Griesel layup gave North Dakota State an 82-81 lead with 1:22 left in regulation. Western Illinois shot just 35.7% from the field & 36.4% from beyond the arc while allowing North Dakota State to shoot 42.9% from the field & 25.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Leathernecks was Colton Sandage who had 27 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, & 1 steal.

On the season, Western Illinois is averaging 80.2 ppg on 43.9% shooting from the field. The Leathernecks are averaging 9.2 three-pointers per game on 34.1% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Western Illinois has been led by Trenton Massner (16.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.8 spg), Will Carius (15.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.0 apg), Luka Barisic (14.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.4 apg), & Colton Sandage (14.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.3 spg).

Defensively, Western Illinois is allowing their opponents to average 76.6 ppg on 45.6% shooting from the field. The Leathernecks have a rebound margin of 3.5 and a turnover margin of 1.3.

The Fighting Hawks are 6-3 ATS in their last 9 games, however, are just 2-5 ATS in their last 7 Saturday games. The Leathernecks are 4-11 ATS in their last 15 games, however, are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 Saturday home games.

North Dakota has been solid ATS as of late, however, this is still a team that is just not that good as they come into this game ranked just 321^st in FG%, 341^st in scoring defense, & 347^th in defensive FG%. Western Illinois has had issues on the defensive end this season, however, the offense has been impressive as the Leathernecks come into this game ranked 18^th in scoring offense & t-37^th in three-pointers made per game. North Dakota is just 1-12 on the road this season and as Western Illinois already were able to defeat North Dakota on the road this season, I think the Leathernecks do enough in this one to cover this double-digit spread. Good Luck!