UIC vs Youngstown State 2/5/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
Youngstown State Penguins (13-10) vs. UIC Flames (8-12)
February 5, 2022 2:00 pm EDT
The Line: UIC Flames -1.5 ; Over/Under: 145.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Youngstown State Penguins and the UIC Flames meet Saturday in college basketball action from UIC Pavilion. Youngstown State is coming off a Thursday game versus IUPUI. In that one the Penguins took a six-point win. As for UIC, they played Robert Morris in their last outing. The Flames ended up winning by five points. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Youngstown State posted a 10-8 run over their first 18 games. The losses in that time were to Penn State, SIUE, Niagara, West Virginia, Oakland, Fort Wayne, Cleveland State and Northern Kentucky. The Penguins then hit a 2-2 run with wins over Green Bay and Milwaukee.
In the IUPUI game on Thursday, Youngstown State posted 28 points in the first half and 33 more from there in a 61-55 victory. Tops in scoring was Dwayne Cohill with 14 points, and Michael Akuchie doubled with 11 points and 10 boards.
Over on the UIC side, they went 7-8 in their first 15 outings. The wins were over Valparaiso, Trinity IL, Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, IUPUI, Milwaukee and Green Bay. The Flames then lost four straight to Northern Kentucky, Wright State, Detroit and Oakland.
Matched up against Robert Morris on Thursday, UIC managed a 39-34 halftime edge and held the pace from there in an 80-75 win. Kevin Johnson led the way on 18 points and seven rebounds. Jalen Warren added 15 points and four assists.
The Flames are 0-3-1 ATS in their last four at home and 1-3-1 ATS in the last five overall. The over is 5-1 in UIC’s last six Saturday games.
Meanwhile, the Penguins are 4-1 ATS in their last five Saturday games and the under is 8-3 ATS in their last 11 after an ATS loss. The over is 4-1 in Youngstown’s last five Saturday games.
PICK: I’m going to try Youngstown State here. The Penguins have certainly had their difficulties during this calendar year, but the last few games have been promising. Youngstown State has been at 63 points or fewer in three of the last six games, but they’re 4-2 during that time. As for UIC, they’ve been scoring pretty well themselves but they’ve also been coughing up a lot of points on the other side lately. I think the Penguins can power out a cover/win in this one.
