Northern Illinois vs Ball State Basketball Picks 2-20-24

The Ball State Cardinals and the Northern Illinois Huskies meet in college basketball action from the NIU Convocation Center on Tuesday night. Who comes out on top in Tuesday night MAC-tion? Let’s dive in and find out with our Ball State vs. Northern Illinois Prediction.

Ball State Team Preview

The Ball State Cardinals come into this one looking to snap a three-game losing streak after an 80-59 loss to Miami-Ohio last time out. Basheer Jihad leads the Cardinals in scoring and rebounding with 19.2 PPG and 7.6 RPG while Jalin Anderson has 15.1 PPG with 4.6 RPG and a team-high 4.3 APG to lead the Cardinals in assists so far this season. Mickey Pearson Jr. has 12 PPG with 5.3 RPG and Davion Bailey has 12 PPG to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for Ball State up to this point in the season. As a team, Ball State is averaging 74.1 PPG on 45.5% shooting from the field, 37.6% from behind the three-point line and 75.9% from the foul line this season.

Northern Illinois Team Preview

The Northern Illinois Huskies come into this game looking to bounce back after an 85-47 loss to Kent State last time out. David Colt leads the Huskies in scoring and assists with 19 PPG and 3.4 APG along with 3.3 RPG while Zarique Nutter has 15.4 PPG along with 5.7 RPG. Xavier Amos has 14.1 PPG along with a team-high 5.8 RPG to lead the Huskies on the glass, rounding out the trio of double-digit scorers for NIU up to this point in the year. As a team, Northern Illinois is averaging 74.3 PPG on 44.8% shooting from the field, 33.4% from three and 68.1% from the foul line this season.

Ball State vs. Northern Illinois Prediction

I’m on Ball State here. I think this line is where it is for a reason as the Cardinals are the better team playing better basketball. It’s just hard to get behind NIU given their current struggles and I trust Ball State’s depth more than I do NIU’s. Give me Ball State in this one.