Northern Illinois vs Ball State Prediction 2/15/25 College Basketball Picks

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

The Northern Illinois Huskies’ recent form and player performance

The Ball State Cardinals’ recent form and player performance 

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Northern Illinois Huskies

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Ball State Cardinals

Recent betting trends in games played between Northern Illinois and Ball State

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

Northern Illinois Huskies Betting Preview

It’s been a rough year for the Huskies so far. Northern Illinois hit a 4-14 opening run over their first 18 games, taking losses to Georgia Southern, Bradley, Elon, DePaul, Valparaiso, Eastern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Illinois State, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Ohio, Miami Ohio, Central Michigan, and Western Michigan in that time. After a win over Ball State, Northern Illinois took five more losses to Akron, Toledo, Bowling Green, Louisiana, and Buffalo. So far that gives the Huskies a rough 5-19 overall run through their first 24 games of the season. 

In the Buffalo matchup on Tuesday, the Huskies came out of the break with a 32-21 deficit. Northern Illinois got better from there on a 46-41 run but it wasn’t enough in an eventual loss 73-67. Quentin Jones was the team’s leading scorer with 18 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Quaran McPherson added 17 points with seven rebounds and three steals, while Ethan Butler contributed 12 points with five rebounds in 30 minutes of work. 

Ball State Cardinals Betting Preview

Over on the Cardinals’ side, they’ve had their ups and downs this season, resulting in a .500 record so far. Ball State went just 3-6 in their first nine with losses to Georgia State, Dayton, Indiana State, Detroit Mercy, Richmond, and SIU Edwardsville. After wins over Bellarmine, Evansville, Anderson IN, and Kent State, the Cards hit a 3-6 run with losses to Miami Ohio, Ohio, toledo, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, and Akron. Since then it’s been consecutive wins over Southern Miss and Eastern Michigan for Ball State, however. In total that gives the Cardinals a 12-12 overall run through the first 24 games of the 2024-25 campaign. 

Matched up against Eastern Michigan in their Tuesday outing, the Cardinals were up comfortably 40-33 in the locker room. Ball State gave up the lead from there, however, and needed overtime to power out a tight win 86-84 in the end. Jermahri Hill led the way on his 21 points with eight rebounds and seven assists. Jeremiah Hernandez came off the bench for 18 points with two assists and two steals, while Payton Sparks contributed 19 points with three rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block in 35 minutes out on the floor. 

Why the Ball State Cardinals will win

• Northern Illinois has lost each of its last 12 road games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Ball State has won seven of its last eight games at John E. Worthen Arena after coming off overtime.
• Ball State has won the first half in seven of its last eight home games against Northern Illinois at John E. Worthen Arena.

Why the Northern Illinois Huskies will win

• Ball State has lost three of its last four day games against the Mid-American Conference at John E. Worthen Arena.

Northern Illinois vs Ball State Prediction 

I’ll try Ball State in this one. The Cardinals barely eked past a middling Eastern Michigan team in their last outing though, and didn’t look great doing it. Ball State shot 51.9 percent from the field but also gave up 55.9 percent shooting on the other side and had 15 turnovers for 18 Eagles points. It’s still a win though, and Ball State has now scored 73 or more points in four straight outings. 

Back on January 25 the last time these teams saw each other, Ball State took a 76-66 road loss. The Cardinals didn’t shoot well at all in that one (38.6 percent) and got outmuscled on the boards 41-36. It was a clean game overall though, with just 11 combined turnovers. In this home rematch, Ball State needs to shoot much better (and hit the boards well) but I think they can pull it off.