The Cleveland State Vikings and the Northern Colorado Bears meet Sunday in CBI college basketball action from Ocean Center. Here’s a Cleveland State vs Northern Colorado prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for the game. We will examine:
- The Northern Colorado recent form and player performance
- The Cleveland State recent form and player performance
- Recent betting trends and streaks involving Northern Colorado
- Recent betting trends and streaks involving Cleveland State
- Recent betting trends in games played between Cleveland State and Northern Colorado
- A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Cleveland State vs Northern Colorado game
Cleveland State Vikings Betting Preview
The Vikings have had a pretty rocky year. Following a 10-5 start, Cleveland State went 7-8 over their next 15 games. The goodness is that the Vikings closed with wins over IUPUI (twice and Youngstown State before a tournament loss to Oakland 74-71 back on March 11.
In the loss to the Grizzlies, the Vikings were all tied up at 38-38 following the first half. Cleveland State was outscored 36-33 from there on the way to the defeat, though. Tops in scoring during the losing effort was Tae Williams with 21 points and 14 rebounds in 31 minutes.
Northern Colorado Bears Betting Preview
Over on the Northern Colorado side, they were 17-10 back in late February. The Bears would then take consecutive losses to Eastern Washington and Weber State before consecutive wins over Idaho State and Northern Arizona. Next up was a tournament loss to Idaho State. Among the notable wins, the Bears defeated Montana.
Last Sunday in the Idaho State tournament rematch, the Bears were down 33-30 in the locker room. Northern Colorado trailed 50-45 the rest of the way and lost 83-76 in the end. Dejour Reaves was tops with his 19 points and five rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench.
Northern Colorado Bears Team Facts
- Northern Colorado has won each of its last five day games.
- Each of Northern Colorado’s last five games against non-Conference opponents have produced a total of 158+ points.
- Northern Colorado has won the first half in three of its last four games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
Cleveland State Vikings Team Facts
- Cleveland State has lost each of its last five day games against non-Conference opponents.
- Each of Cleveland State’s last 13 games have produced a total of 154 or fewer points.
- Cleveland State has lost the first half in five of its last six day games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
Matchup/League Facts
- Northern Colorado ranks 14th among Division 1 teams for field goals made per game this season (29.7).
- Northern Colorado ranks 17th among Division 1 teams for field goal percentage this season (49.0%).
- Cleveland State ranks 19th among Division 1 teams for opponent three-point percentage this season (30.3%).
- Cleveland State ranks 32nd among Division 1 teams for turnover percentage this season (12.7%).
Cleveland State vs Northern Colorado Prediction
I’ll lean toward Northern Colorado. You could obviously make a case either way here, though. The Bears didn’t play all that well versus Idaho State, giving up 46.8 percent shooting and coughing up 12 turnovers for 23 Bengals points. That said, Northern Colorado has scored 76 or more points in seven straight games, a 4-3 run.
As for Cleveland State, they were pretty bad from outside (3-of-16) in the loss to Oakland and had 11 turnovers themselves. The Vikings closed the regular season on a pretty good run though, and should show up here with a decent performance. Ultimately I like Northern Colorado a little better on the cover, but it’s a true coin flip.