Ball State vs Chicago State 12/28/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Chicago State Cougars and the Ball State Cardinals meet in college basketball action from the Worthen Arena on Wednesday night.

The Chicago State Cougars will look to snap a five-game losing skid after a 58-55 loss to Minnesota in their last game. Wesley Cardet Jr. leads the Cougars in scoring and assists with 15.4 PPG and 2.9 APG while Jahsean Corbett has 13.4 PPG with a team-high 8.1 RPG to lead the Cougars on the glass and Elijah Weaver has 10.9 PPG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Chicago State up to this point in the season. As a team, Chicago State is averaging 65.3 PPG on 41% shooting from the field, 32.6% from three and 74.8% from the foul line this season.

The Ball State Cardinals will look to build on a four-game win streak after a 58-54 win over Georgia Southern last time out. Jaylin Sellers leads the Cardinals in scoring with 14.5 PPG along with 4.5 RPG while Payton Sparks has 13.7 PPG with a team-high 8 RPG to lead Ball State on the glass and Jarron Coleman has 13.1 PPG with 5 RPG and a team-high 3.7 APG to lead the Cardinals in the assist department this season. Demarius Jacobs has 12.2 PPG with 4 RPG and 3.4 APG to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for Ball State so far this season. As a team, Ball State is averaging 77 PPG on 48.4 shooting from the field, 38.6% from three and 69.6% from the foul line this season.

Chicago State is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games and 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall while the under is 4-0 in their last 4 games following an ATS win. Ball State is 12-4 ATS in their last 16 home games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall while the under is 5-1 in their last 6 games following an ATS loss.

I get the case to be made for either side in this game, but I’m backing the under here. Chicago State’s done a good job covering double-digit spreads this season, but a lot of those covers came against lower-scoring teams and I don’t know if they’ll be able to hold down Ball State here. On the other side, I think Ball State should have no problem keeping a weak Chicago State offense in check and I think this one comes in under the number.