Ohio vs Ball State 2/1/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Ball State Cardinals will travel to the Convocation Center (OH) to take on the Ohio Bobcats this Tuesday night in College Basketball action.

The Ball State Cardinals won their 3^rd straight game and improved to 10-10 on the season after defeating the Western Michigan Broncos, 83-72, this past Saturday. Ball State was lights out on the offensive end against Western Michigan and was able to pull away late in the 2^nd half after taking a 79-69 lead with 1:48 left in regulation. Ball State shot 58.5% from the field & 50.0% from beyond the arc while allowing Western Michigan to shoot 55.8% from the field & 43.5% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Cardinals was Miryne Thomas who had 18 points, 4 rebounds, & 1 assist.

On the season, Ball State is averaging 74.6 ppg on 44.9% shooting from the field. The Cardinals are averaging 8.6 three-pointers per game on 36.4% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Ball State has been led by Tyler Cochran (12.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.8 spg), Payton Sparks (12.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.1 apg), Luke Bumbalough (11.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.2 apg), & Miryne Thomas (11.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.7 apg).

Defensviely, Ball State is allowing their opponents to average 76.0 ppg on 44.7% shooting from the field. The Cardinals have a rebound margin of -0.5 and a turnover margin of -1.7.

The Ohio Bobcats won their 2^nd straight game and improved to 16-3 on the season after defeating the Buffalo Bulls, 74-53, this past Friday night. Ohio dominated Buffalo on both ends of the court and had no trouble cruising to victory in the 2^nd half after taking a 37-20 lead into halftime. Ohio shot 43.9% from the field & 33.3% from beyond the arc while holding Buffalo to 38.2% shooting from the field & 23.8% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Bobcats was Mark Sears who had 27 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, & 3 steals.

On the season, Ohio is averaging 73.9 ppg on 43.4% shooting from the field. The Bobcats are averaging 8.6 three-pointers per game on 32.9% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Ohio has been led by Mark Sears (19.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.8 spg), Jason Carter (14.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.4 spg), Ben Vander Plas (12.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.6 spg), & Miles Brown (7.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.2 spg).

Defensviely, Ohio is holding their opponents to an average of 66.2 ppg on 43.6% shooting from the field. The Bobcats have a rebound margin of 0.4 and a turnover margin of 3.6.

The Cardinals are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games overall & 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up win. The Bobcats are 9-9 ATS on the season, however, are just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games.

Ball State has been led by their offense which comes into this game ranked 103^rd in scoring offense, 134^th in FG%, & 59^th in 3P-FG%, however, the Cardinals have really struggled on the defensive end as they currently rank just 320^th in scoring defense & 274^th in defensive FG%. Ohio has been outstanding on both ends of the court this season and currently rank 119^th in scoring offense, 99^th in scoring defense, & 30^th in turnover margin.

Ohio has bounced back nicely with impressive wins against NIU & Buffalo after getting blown out by Toledo at home, however, this is a bunch of points to give a Ball State team that has played well as of late. Ball State has an offense that can keep up with Ohio while also being competitive at Ohio last season and although I don’t think the Cardinals pull off an upset here, I think they can do enough to cover with the double-digit points. Good Luck!