The Youngstown State Penguins and the Milwaukee Panthers meet Friday in college basketball action from UWM Panther Arena. Youngstown State sits at 19-9 so far this year. The Penguins lost to Cleveland State in their latest outing. As for Milwaukee, they’re coming off a win over Northern Kentucky that improved the Panthers to 14-13 this season. Let’s get into our Youngstown State vs. Milwaukee prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Youngstown State Penguins
The Penguins lost just seven of their first 25 games this year, falling to Louisiana, Michigan, Dayton, Oakland, Northern Kentucky, Oakland again and Fort Wayne. It’s been a 1-2 run since then with a win over Robert Morris between losses to Green Bay and Cleveland State.
Matched up against Cleveland State on Saturday, the Penguins held a 37-33 edge going into the second half. Youngstown State faded from there however and lost 81-73 after a 48-36 run the rest of the way. Ziggy Reid was the top scorer in the defeat with 19 points and four boards.
Milwaukee Panthers
Over on the Panthers’ side, they posted a sketchy 10-11 run over their first 21 games of the year. Milwaukee has since gone 4-2 in their last six though, taking out Fort Wayne, IUPUI, Cleveland State and Northern Kentucky with losses to Youngstown State and Robert Morris otherwise.
Last weekend in the Northern Kentucky game, the Panthers were down 36-35 in the locker room. Milwaukee came back with a 38-36 second-half run and took the victory 73-72 in the end. BJ Freeman came off the bench to lead the team with 26 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double.
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Milwaukee Panthers Team Facts
- Milwaukee has won each of its last six night games against the Horizon League at UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena.
- Each of Milwaukee’s last 11 Friday night home games against the Horizon League have produced a total of 156 or fewer points.
- Milwaukee has won the first half in each of its last seven night games against Youngstown State at UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena.
Youngstown State Penguins Team Facts
- Youngstown State has won 12 of its last 13 games following a road loss.
- Each of Youngstown State’s last eight Friday games against Conference opponents have produced a total of 154 or fewer points.
- Youngstown State has lost the first half in each of its last seven night games at UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena.
ANDREW’S FREE YOUNGSTOWN STATE VS MILWAUKEE PREDICTION
I’ll stay with Youngstown State. You could probably argue this one either way, though. The Penguins faded in the second half during their last outing versus Cleveland State, eventually shooting 43.1 percent from the field with a whopping 18 turnovers (leading to 27 Vikings points) while giving up 53.3 percent shooting on the other side. It’s going to take a better effort to pull this one off, but the good news is that Youngstown State is scoring well these days.
Back on February 8 the last time these teams met, Youngstown State pulled off a 97-85 home victory in overtime. The Penguins didn’t shoot especially well (39.7 percent) but owned the boards 51-46 and played decent defense. I’m leaning toward Youngstown State covering in the rematch, but I could see Milwaukee controlling this one as well.