Bettors will hope to hit paydirt on Saturday when the Northern Illinois Huskies try to run the Eastern Illinois Panthers off the court at NIU Convocation Center in college hoops action.

The Huskies sport records of 5-19 and 12-11 ATS heading into this battle, while the Panthers have 8-20 and 9-14 ATS marks on the season. The OVER/UNDER records are 7-14 for the Huskies and 9-8-2 for the Panthers.



View Eastern Illinois vs Northern Illinois Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
If you were backing the visitors in this one, the Panthers were listed as 2-point underdogs earlier in the day at Sportsbook.

Power Rankings / Prediction:
The Huskies sit at No. 261 in the current college hoops power poll here at Odds Shark, while the Panthers sit at No. 323 on the same chart. The computers running our scores simulations have concluded that the Panthers will win this game 56-53.



How They Match Up:
Rebounding is always a key handicapping consideration and Panthers is ranked No. 334 in NCAA hoops at 29.6 per game. Contrast that with Northern Illinois’s No. 211 mark in the paint. When it comes to three-point shooting, Northern Illinois is the No. 317-ranked team in the country at 4.6 per game, while Eastern Illinois rates No. 183 at 6 per game.

Defensively, Eastern Illinois features the nation's No. 90-rated defense on the road, allowing 65.9 points per game. Northern Illinois, meanwhile, comes in at No. 346 nationally in scoring at home.

Eastern Illinois lost its last outing, an 80-49 result against Belmont on February 20. They failed to cover in that game as a 12-point underdog. Eastern Illinois was crushed on Wednesday, getting blown out by Belmont and falling by an 80-49 score at Lantz Arena.

In their last action, Northern Illinois was a 66-58 loser on the road against Western Michigan. They covered the 13-point spread as underdogs. Aksel Bolin scored 10 points in a futile effort to lead the Huskies to a win (they lost 66-58 to Western Michigan at University Arena on Saturday).


Eastern Illinois Panthers Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 2-8
Before playing Chicago State are 3-1
After playing Belmont are 2-0
After a loss are 3-7

Northern Illinois Huskies Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 3-7
Before playing Eastern Michigan are 7-3
After playing Western Michigan are 6-4
After a loss are 3-7

A few Panthers at Huskies trends to consider:
Eastern Illinois is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Eastern Illinois is 2-9 SU in its last 11 games on the road
Northern Illinois is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Northern Illinois is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games at home
Northern Illinois is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games


Next up:
Eastern Illinois at Chicago State, Tuesday, February 26
Northern Illinois home to Eastern Michigan, Wednesday, February 27