Saint Louis vs Northern Iowa 3/16/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Northern Iowa Panthers will travel to Chaifetz Arena to take on the 3-seed Saint Louis Billikens this Wednesday night in the 1^st round of the NIT.

The Northern Iowa Panthers finished their regular season with an overall record of 19-11 and finished Missouri Valley Conference play with 14-4 record. Northern Iowa earned the 1-seed in the MVC Tournament, however, the Panthers could not make it to the finals after being easily defeated by the eventual champions, Loyola Chicago, by a 66-43 margin in the semifinals. Northern Iowa went just 4-6 in their non-conference schedule, however, did have wins over St. Bonaventure & Richmond and was solid throughout MVC play with wins over Missouri State, Drake, & Loyola Chicago.

On the season, Northern Iowa is averaging 74.4 ppg on 45.9% shooting from the field. The Panthers are averaging 8.4 three-pointers per game on 35.0% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Northern Iowa has been led by AJ Green (18.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.4 apg), Noah Carter (14.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.7 apg), Trae Berhow (9.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.0 spg), & Nate Heise (9.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.0 spg).

Defensively, Northern Iowa is allowing their opponents to average 70.5 ppg on 44.8% shooting from the field The Panthers have a rebound margin of 0.5 and a turnover margin of 1.3.

The 3-seed Saint Louis Billikens finished their regular season with an overall record of 23-11 and finished Atlantic-10 play with a 12-6 record. Saint Louis earned the 5-seed in the Atlantic-10 Conference Tournament and picked up wins over La Salle & St. Bonaventure to reach the Semifinals, however, could not advance to the A-10 Championship game after being defeated by the 1-see Davidson Wildcats, 84-69. Saint Louis went 9-4 in their non-conference schedule and picked up solid wins this season over Stephen F. Austin, Boise State, Iona, & Dayton.

On the season, Saint Louis is averaging 76.4 ppg on 46.0% shooting from the field. The Billikens are averaging 6.8 three-pointers per game on 37.1% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Saint Louis has been led by Gibson Jimerson (16.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg), Yuri Collins (11.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 7.9 apg, 1.9 spg), Francis Okoro (10.8 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.2 bpg), & Fred Thatch Jr. (9.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.1 spg).

Defensively, Saint Louis is allowing their opponents to an average of 67.5 ppg on 42.0% shooting from the field. The Billikens have a rebound margin of 6.4 and a turnover margin of -0.2.

The Panthers are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games as a road underdog, however, are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 Wednesday games. The Billikens are 4-0-1 ATS in their last 5 games as a favorite & 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 games overall.

Northern Iowa was led by their offense, which ranks 88^th in scoring offense, 77^th in FG%, & 81^st in three-pointers made per game, however, the Panthers have struggled a bit on the defensive end and come into this game ranked just 212^nd in scoring defense & 264^th in defensive FG%. Saint Louis has been solid on both ends of the court as the Billikens come into this game ranked 47^th in scoring offense, 70^th in FG%, & t-130^th in scoring defense.

Saint Louis has been solid this season on both ends of the court, however, Northern Iowa has an offense that certainly can do some damage against the Billikens and between the fact that the Panthers were 8-4 in road games this season and that they were able to knock off A-10 Champion, Richmond, early in the season, I think the play here is to take Northern Iowa and the points. Good Luck!