Belmont vs Eastern Illinois 2/17/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Eastern Illinois Panthers will travel to the Curb Event Center Arena to take on the Belmont Bruins this Thursday night in College Basketball action.

The Eastern Illinois Panthers dropped to 5-21 on the season after being defeated by the Austin Peay Governors, 62-54, this past Monday. Eastern Illinois struggled on both ends of the court in the 1^st half and could not fight all the way back after going into halftime trailing by a 40-22 margin. Eastern Illinois shot 37.5% from the field & 0.0% from beyond the arc while allowing Austin Peay to shoot 36.2% from the field & 28.1% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Panthers was Paul Bizimana who had a double-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, & 2 steals.

On the season, Eastern Illinois is averaging 57.3 ppg on 40.0% shooting from the field. The Panthers are averaging 6.1 three-pointers per game on 32.1% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Eastern Illinois has been led by Kashawn Charles (9.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.0 spg), Kejuan Clements (8.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 4.7 apg), Paul Bizimana (8.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.0 bpg), & Dan Luers (7.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.5 apg).

Defensively, Eastern Illinois is allowing their opponents to average 71.1 ppg on 44.7% shooting from the field. The Panthers have a rebound margin of -7.8 and a turnover margin of -3.1.

The Belmont Bruins won their 8^th straight game and improved to 22-5 on the season after defeating the SE Missouri State Redbirds, 81-72, this past Saturday. Belmont led by a 37-35 margin at halftime and was able to pull away in the 2^nd half after taking a 71-62 lead with 4:31 left in regulation. Belmont shot 49.1% from the field & 27.3% from beyond the arc while allowing SE Missouri State to shoot 42.9% from the field & 24.1% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Bruins was Nick Muszynski who had 21 points, 6 rebounds, & 1 assist.

On the season, Belmont is averaging 80.6 ppg on 49.3% shooting from the field. The Bruins are averaging 9.0 three-pointers per game on 34.5% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Belmont has been led by Nick Muszynski (16.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.8 bpg), Ben Sheppard (16.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.7 apg), Will Richard (11.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.2 spg), Luke Smith (8.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.1 spg), & Grayson Murphy (7.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 6.0 apg, 2.2 spg).

Defensively, Belmont is allowing their opponents to average 69.1 ppg on 42.9% shooting from the field. The Bruins have a rebound margin of 0.8 and a turnover margin of 3.1.

The Panthers are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games, however, are 0-10 ATS in their last 10 games vs. Belmont. The Bruins are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games, however, are 5-4-1 ATS in their last 10 home games.

This is a monster spread, however, this is a major matchup as Belmont is one of the better scoring offensive teams in the College Basketball (12^th in scoring offense; 5^th in FG%) while Eastern Illinois has really struggled on both ends of the court, ranking just 349^th in scoring offense & 232^nd in scoring defense. Eastern Illinois is just 1-13 on the road this season and between the fact that the Panthers have had no success in this matchup ATS recently and that Belmont already defeated Eastern Illinois by a 34-point margin on the road this season, I’m taking Belmont to cover this large home spread. Good Luck!