Who's Playing

Ball State @ Northern Illinois

Current Records: Ball State 5-6; Northern Illinois 3-7

What to Know

The Ball State Cardinals are 9-3 against the Northern Illinois Huskies since February of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success Tuesday. Ball State and NIU will face off in a Mid-American battle at 8 p.m. ET at Convocation Center. The Cardinals won both of their matches against NIU last season (79-70 and 78-58) and are aiming for the same result this time around.

Ball State took their game against the Eastern Illinois Panthers last week by a conclusive 75-55 score.

NIU lost a heartbreaker to the Illinois-Chicago Flames when they met last November, and they left with a heavy heart again last week. The Huskies were just a bucket short of a win and fell 61-60 to Illinois-Chicago.

Barring any buzzer beaters, Ball State is expected to win a tight contest. They covered a 13.5-point spread last Tuesday, so bettors might be thinking that will translate to further success against a lower spread.

Ball State's victory brought them up to 5-6 while NIU's defeat pulled them down to 3-7. A couple stats to keep in the back of your head while watching: Ball State is stumbling into the contest with the 12th most points allowed per game in college basketball, having given up 77.9 on average. The Huskies have experienced some struggles of their own as they are 355th worst in college basketball in points per game, with only 56.7 on average. It's possible one of these Achilles' heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.

How To Watch

  • When: Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET
  • Where: Convocation Center -- DeKalb, Illinois
  • Follow: CBS Sports App
  • Ticket Cost: $24.00

Odds

The Cardinals are a slight 2-point favorite against the Huskies, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 2-point spread, and stayed right there.

Series History

Ball State have won nine out of their last 12 games against Northern Illinois.

  • Jan 16, 2021 - Ball State 78 vs. Northern Illinois 58
  • Dec 08, 2020 - Ball State 79 vs. Northern Illinois 70
  • Mar 06, 2020 - Ball State 75 vs. Northern Illinois 54
  • Feb 11, 2020 - Ball State 63 vs. Northern Illinois 59
  • Mar 08, 2019 - Northern Illinois 64 vs. Ball State 57
  • Feb 05, 2019 - Ball State 72 vs. Northern Illinois 71
  • Mar 02, 2018 - Northern Illinois 66 vs. Ball State 65
  • Feb 20, 2018 - Ball State 77 vs. Northern Illinois 68
  • Mar 03, 2017 - Ball State 87 vs. Northern Illinois 82
  • Feb 14, 2017 - Ball State 81 vs. Northern Illinois 72
  • Mar 04, 2016 - Northern Illinois 80 vs. Ball State 69
  • Feb 19, 2016 - Ball State 63 vs. Northern Illinois 59