Western Michigan vs. Central Michigan - 2/1/20 College Basketball Pick, Odds, and Prediction
Photo by Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Central Michigan Chippewas (11-8) at Western Michigan Broncos (9-11)
College Basketball: Saturday, February 1, 2020 at 2:00 pm (University Arena in Read Fieldhouse)
The Line: Western Michigan Broncos -1 -- Over/Under: 153 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Central Michigan Chippewas and the Western Michigan Broncos meet in college basketball MAC-tion from University Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The Central Michigan Chippewas will look to find some consistency after alternating wins and losses in each of their last five games after a 71-66 win over Ball State last time out. Dallas Morgan led the Chippewas with 21 points on 9 of 14 shooting with 3 threes and 3 steals while David DiLeo added 14 points and Kevin McKay chipped in 13 points and a team-high 9 rebounds. Rob Montgomery added 11 points with 4 steals and Devontae Lane added 10 points to finish off the scoring in double figures for Central Michigan in the winning effort. McKay leads Central Michigan in scoring and rebounding with an average of 15.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game while Lane leads the Chippewas in assists with 3.7 assists per game this season. As a team, Central Michigan is averaging 82.3 points per game on 44.1% shooting from the field, 33.4% from behind the arc and 72.7% from the foul line this season.
The Western Michigan Broncos could use a win after losing back-to-back games and 6 of their last 8 games following a 58-52 loss to Northern Illinois last time out. Michael Flowers led the Broncos with 14 points including a pair of threes and a team-high 4 assists while Brandon Johnson added 12 points with 6 rebounds as the only other double-digit scorer for Western Michigan in the loss. B. Artis White added 9 points with 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals while Jason Whitens added 4 points with a team-high 7 rebounds. Flowers leads Western Michigan in scoring and assists with an average of 17.6 points and 3.5 assists per game while Johnson leads the Broncos in rebounding with 8.1 rebounds per game this season. As a team, Western Michigan is averaging 71.4 points per game on 42.2% shooting from the field, 31.8% from behind the arc and 71.6% from the foul line this season.
Central Michigan is 13-6-1 ATS in their last 20 road games and 12-5-1 ATS in their last 18 road games against a team with a winning home record while the under is 5-0 in their last 5 games overall. Western Michigan is 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 home games and 8-1-1 ATS in their last 10 Saturday games while the over is 65-32-3 in their last 100 home games. The underdog is 11-5 ATS in the last 16 meetings between these two teams.
I’ve gone back and forth on this game, which is probably why this line is as tight as it is. However, as good as Central Michigan has been offensively this season, the fact remains that the Chippewas have struggled on the road this season, going 1-7 SU. Western Michigan has had issues of their own, but the Broncos are 7-2 SU at home, and in a near pick ‘em, that’s the side I want to be on. Give me Western Michigan and lay the point here.
Chris’s Pick Western Michigan -1
AUTHOR: Chris Ruffolo
Mitch's Take...
