The Ball State Cardinals will look to boost their win total and cover the spread when they tip off against the Northern Illinois Huskies at Worthen Arena on Saturday in NCAA hoops play.

The Cardinals bring a 14-14 record (13-12 ATS) to this tilt against the 5-23 Huskies, who are 12-15 ATS. OVER/UNDER bettors have witnessed Ball State go 13-8-1 so far and the Huskies go 7-18.



View Northern Illinois vs Ball State Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Bettors looking to go with the Cardinals in this one found them listed as 10.5-point favorites earlier on the NCAA basketball betting menu for Monday's contest. Check for updates as money coming in on the Huskies was expected to move the line.

Power Rankings / Prediction:
The Odds Shark Power Rankings have the Cardinals at No. 249 and the Huskies at No. 271 heading into this contest. Handicapping models at Odds Shark project a 61-54 result in favor of the Cardinals.



How They Match Up:
The game also pits Ball State's No. 218-ranked offense, averaging 65.8 PPG, against a Huskies defense that ranks No. 104 at 63.8 PPG. The Cardinals field goal percentage has averaged 42.7% so far, more than the Huskies marksmen have achieved on the year, 35.9% per game.

Comparing how these foes stack up statistically, Northern Illinois owns the country's No. 118-rated mark, allowing 66.9 points per game on the highway. Ball State, on the other hand, rates No. 299 in scoring at home.

In their last action, Northern Illinois was a 70-46 loser on the road against Toledo. They failed to cover the 11-point spread as underdogs. Northern Illinois was crushed on Tuesday, getting blown out by Toledo and falling by a 70-46 score at Savage Arena.

Last time out for Ball State, they were an 89-85 Sportsbook as they battled Western Michigan on the road. They covered in the match as a 9.5-point underdog. Jesse Berry scored 28 points for Ball State on Tuesday, leading the Cardinals to an 89-85 win over Western Michigan at University Arena.


Northern Illinois Huskies Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 2-8
After playing Toledo are 1-9
After a loss are 2-8

Ball State Cardinals Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 3-7
After playing Western Michigan are 5-5
After a win are 6-4

A few Huskies at Cardinals trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Northern Illinois's last 5 games when playing on the road against Ball State
Northern Illinois is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Ball State
Northern Illinois is 3-22 SU in its last 25 games on the road
Ball State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Northern Illinois
Ball State is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
Ball State is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Northern Illinois
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Ball State's last 5 games