Akron vs Ball State 1/11/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
Ball State Cardinals (7-7) vs. Akron Zips (8-4)
January 11, 2022 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Akron Zips -8.5 / Ball State Cardinals +8.5; Over/Under: +143
(Get latest betting odds)
The Ball State Cardinals and the Akron Zips meet in college basketball action from James A. Rhodes Arena on Tuesday night.
The Ball State Cardinals will try to build off of a 78-72 win over Eastern Michigan in their last game. Luke Bumbalough leads the Cardinals in scoring and assists with 12.9 PPG and 3.3 APG while Payton Sparks has 10.4 PPG with a team-high 6.2 RPG to lead Ball State on the glass and Tyler Cochran has 11.5 PPG with 5.1 RPG to make up the trio of double-digit scorers for Ball State up to this point in the year. Miryne Thomas has 9.4 PPG with 5 RPG as well and Jalen Windham’s contributing 8.7 PPG as well on the year. As a team, Ball State is averaging 74.4 PPG on 44.1% shooting from the field, 37.2% from three and 67.9% from the foul line while allowing 76.8 PPG on 44.8% shooting from the field and 36.2% from three this season.
The Akron Zips will look to bounce back from a 69-63 loss to Ohio last time out. Ali Ali leads the Zips in scoring and assists with 15.1 PPG and 2.8 APG while Enrique Freeman has 12.3 PPG and a team-high 11.1 RPG to lead the Zips on the glass with a double-double per game. Xavier Castaneda and Bryan Trimble Jr. each have 10+ PPG to make up the group of double-digit scorers for Akron up to this point in the season. As a team, Akron is averaging 73.4 PPG on 45.4% shooting from the field, 35.7% from three and 64.8% from the foul line while allowing 61.5 PPG on 41% shooting from the field and 32.7% from three this season.
Ball State is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall and 3-9 ATS in their last 12 road games while the under is 5-2 in their last 7 games against a team with a winning record. Akron is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games overall and 11-4 ATS in their last 15 home games while the over is 5-1 in their last 6 home games.
I get why Akron’s favored at home, and I do think the Zips win this game but almost double-digits seems like a lot against even Ball State. The Cardinals have actually been outscoring teams in conference play, while Akron is only outscoring teams by 3 points per game in conference play and I think that this is a spot where Ball State keeps this one close. Give me the Cardinals and the points in this one.
