Detroit vs Ball State Prediction College Basketball Picks 11/20/24

The Detroit Mercy Titans and the Ball State Cardinals meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Worthen Arena. Here’s a Detroit vs Ball State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Detroit vs Ball State pick. We will examine:

The Detroit Mercy Titans’ recent form and player performance

The Ball State Cardinals’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Detroit Mercy Titans

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Ball State Cardinals

Recent betting trends in games played between Detroit and Ball State

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Detroit vs Ball State game

Detroit Mercy Titans Betting Preview

The Titans didn’t have any issues in their opener versus Cleary, surging to a 91-52 blowout win. Game two was a blowout loss, however, as Detroit fell to Loyola 87-65. They’d get back into the W column with an 84-78 result against Niagara in the next outing, though.

Detroit couldn’t handle Toledo in their latest matchup on Saturday. The Titans were within one point at the break, then fell behind on a 46-32 run from there in an 82-67 defeat. Emmanuel Kuac was the team’s lead scorer on 18 points and four boards. Detroit Mercy will play against Wake Forest and Tulsa following this one.

Ball State Cardinals Betting Preview

Over on the Ball State side, they failed to hit 70 points in two of their first three games. Those two were both losses: 71-66 versus Georgia State and 77-69 against Dayton. In the lone outlier, the Cardinals took out Franklin 87-60.

Matched up against Indiana State over the weekend, the Cardinals went into the second half with a three-point lead. Ball State was drilled 58-45 from there, however, and lost 94-84. Payton Sparks topped the team in the defeat with 16 points and seven boards.

Why the Ball State Cardinals will win

• Detroit Mercy has lost each of its last 22 road games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Ball State has won each of its last eight night games against non-conference opponents at John E. Worthen Arena.
• Ball State has won the first half in nine of its last 10 home games against non-conference opponents.

Why the Detroit Mercy Titans will win

• Ball State has lost four of its last five games.

Detroit vs Ball State Prediction

I’ll lean toward Detroit, but I could probably go either way. The Titans didn’t shoot terribly in their latest loss to Toledo, with 43.1 percent from the field and 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from outside alongside a 37-36 rebounding edge. The 16 turnovers (for 22 Rockets points) were the deciding factor, though. Ball control will be key on Wednesday.

As for Ball State, they were drilled in the second half against Indiana State, eventually shooting 38.6 percent with a 43-31 rebounding deficit. I could see the Cardinals controlling this one if they can get into an early shooting rhythm, but I’m still favoring Detroit cover-wise.