Northern Illinois vs Toledo 1/14/23 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
Toledo Rockets (10-6) vs. Northern Illinois Huskies (5-10)
January 14, 2023 4:30 pm EDT
The Line: Northern Illinois Huskies +11.5 / Toledo Rockets -11.5; Over/Under: +158
(Get latest betting odds)
The Toledo Rockets and the Northern Illinois Huskies meet in college basketball action from the NIU Convocation Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Toledo Rockets will try to find some consistency after alternating wins and losses in each of their last four games after a 75-63 loss to Kent State last time out. JT Shumate leads Toledo in scoring with 18.4 PPG and 4.5 RPG while RayJ Dennis has 18.1 PPG with a team-high 5.9 APG to lead the Rockets in assists up to this point in the season. Setric Millner Jr. has 14.8 PPG and a team-high 6.4 RPG to lead the Rockets on the glass and Dante Maddox Jr. has 10 PPG to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for Toledo up to this point in the year. As a team, Toledo is averaging 84.6 points per game on 48.5% shooting from the field, 37.8% from three point range and 75.1% from the foul line this season.
The Northern Illinois Huskies will look to build on a 73-54 win over Central Michigan last time out. Keshawn Williams leads the Huskies in scoring with 17.9 PPG along with 4.7 RPG and 2.4 APG while David Colt has 14.4 PPG and Zarique Nutter has 10.6 PPG with 5.1 RPG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Northern Illinois so far this season. Kaleb Thornton has 3.1 APG to lead NIU in assists up to this point in the year. As a team, Northern Illinois is averaging 67.9 PPG on 43.6% shooting from the field, 32.2% from three and 66.1% from the foul line this season.
Toledo is 13-6 ATS in their last 19 road games and 12-5 ATS in their last 17 games against a team with a losing record while the over is 12-2 in their last 14 games overall. Northern Illinois is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 home games and 5-11 ATS in their last 16 games following a win while the under is 4-0 in their last 4 games overall.
I get the case to be made for either side in this game, but I lean towards Toledo here. Both teams have had defensive issues this season, but between two teams that struggle defensively, I’d rather back the side that has the better offensive potential and that’s Toledo. I’ll back the Rockets in this one.
