Northern Illinois vs Ohio 3/4/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
Ohio Bobcats (23-7) vs. Northern Illinois Huskies (8-21)
March 4, 2022 8:00 pm EDT
The Line: Northern Illinois Huskies +9.5 / Ohio Bobcats -9.5; Over/Under: -135.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Ohio Bobcats and the Northern Illinois Huskies meet in college basketball action from the NIU Convocation Center on Friday night.
The Ohio Bobcats will look to rebound from back-to-back losses after an 80-77 loss to Bowling Green last time out. Mark Sears leads the Bobcats in scoring and assists with 19.4 PPG and 4.1 APG along with 5.8 RPG while Ben Vander Plas has 14.1 PPG with 6.8 RPG and Jason Carter has 13.7 PPG with 6.4 RPG to lead the Bobcats on the glass and to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Ohio up to this point in the season. As a team, Ohio is averaging 74.8 PPG on 43.4% shooting from the field, 34% from three and 73.3% from the foul line while allowing 67.7 PPG on 44.4% shooting from the field and 31.5% from three this season.
The Northern Illinois Huskies will try to snap a five-game losing skid after a 63-55 loss to Kent State last time out. Keshawn Williams leads NIU in scoring with 16.4 PPG while Trendon Hankerson has 11.3 PPG with 3.8 RPG as the only other double-digit scorer for the Huskies so far this season. Kaleb Thornton has 8.1 PPG and 4 APG while Anthony Crump’s got 4.8 RPG as well this season. As a team, Northern Illinois is averaging 64.3 points per game on 41.9% from the field, 32.1% from three and 67.2% from the foul line while allowing 72 PPG on 45% shooting from the floor and 32.5% from three this season.
Ohio is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a loss and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 road games against a team with a home winning percentage below .400 while the under is 4-1 in their last 5 games following an ATS loss. Northern Illinois is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games against a team with a winning record and 7-0 ATS in their last 7 games overall while the over is 8-3-2 in their last 13 games following an ATS win.
I get why Ohio’s favored here, but the Bobcats have been favored in their last couple of games and not only didn’t cover, but they lost both games outright against far inferior opposition. Northern Illinois is far from a world-beater, but it’s senior night, and the Huskies have stepped up in spots and I think this could be a value spot to side with Northern Illinois and the points here.
