Monmouth vs Northern Illinois Prediction College Basketball Picks 11/12/24

The Monmouth Hawks and the Northern Illinois Huskies meet Tuesday in college basketball action from the NIU Convocation Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Monmouth vs. Northern Illinois prediction.

Monmouth Recap

The Monmouth Hawks come into this one looking to rebound from a 103-74 loss to Temple last time out to fall to 0-2 on the year. After this game, Monmouth will continue their trek on the road to take on Rutgers.

Hawks Looking For First W

Abdi Bashir Jr. has a team-high 15 PPG while Madison Durr has 14.5 PPG with 3.5 RPG and a team-high 4.5 APG to lead the Hawks in assists as the only other double-digit scorer for Monmouth so far this season. Justin Ray also has 9 PPG while Cornelius Robinson Jr. has chipped in a team-high 9 RPG as well on the year. As a team, Monmouth is averaging 65.5 PPG on 31% shooting from the field, 30.8% from three, and 92.5% from the foul line so far this season.

Why the Monmouth Hawks will win

• Northern Illinois has lost each of its last five games when playing with a rest advantage.

Northern Illinois Recap

The Northern Illinois Huskies come into this one looking to build on a 105-37 win over subdivision Holy Cross (IN) in their last matchup. After this one, Northern Illinois will go on the road for a date with Bradley.

Huskies Looking To Build Momentum

James Dent Jr. has a team-high 19 PPG along with 5.5 RPG and 2.5 APG while Ethan Butler has 12 PPG with a team-high 6 RPG to lead the Huskies on the glass up to this point in the year. Quentin Jones also has 11 PPG with 3 RPG and 2.5 APG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for NIU up to this point in the year. As a team, Northern Illinois is averaging 85 PPG on 53.3% shooting from the field, 37.5% from three, and 65.6% from the foul line this season.

Why the Northern Illinois Huskies will win

• Monmouth has lost 15 of its last 17 night games against non-conference opponents.
• Northern Illinois has won 30 of its last 38 night games against non-conference opponents at NIU Convocation Center.

Monmouth vs. Northern Illinois Prediction

I’m leaning towards Monmouth here. I just think the fact that the Hawks are more battle-tested is going to benefit them here and it’s not like NIU has some substantial home-court advantage. Monmouth also is the far better free throw shooting team and that can be a critical component in these coin-flip games as you don’t want to be leaving points at the charity stripe. I think this is going to be a competitive game, but in the end, I see Monmouth taking it. Give me the Hawks.

Chris Ruffolo's Pick: Monmouth -1