Central Michigan vs Ball State Prediction 3/4/25 College Basketball Picks

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

The Central Michigan Chippewas’ recent form and player performance

The Ball State Cardinals’ recent form and player performance 

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Central Michigan Chippewas

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Ball State Cardinals

Recent betting trends in games played between Central Michigan and Ball State

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

Central Michigan Chippewas Betting Preview

The Chippewas have had a pretty choppy year so far, and they’re a few games under the .500 mark as a result. Central Michigan kicked things off with a spotty 6-9 run, then took consecutive wins over Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois in the next pair. A 3-3 stretch came next with wins over Western Michigan, Bowling Green, and Texas State mixed with losses to Ball State, Buffalo, and Miami Ohio. Since then it’s been a 2-4 run over the last half-dozen games for the Chippewas. Those wins were over Western Michigan and Buffalo. Otherwise, it was losses to Kent State, Akron, Ohio, and Eastern Michigan. That gives the Chippewas a 13-16 overall run through 29 games this year so far. 

In the Eastern Michigan matchup back on Friday, Central Michigan came out of the locker room sporting a 44-36 deficit. The Chippewas were outscored 40-37 the rest of the way and took the loss in the end 84-73. Ugnius Jarusevicius topped the team on a double-double in the losing effort with 23 points, 11 boards, and two blocks in 35 minutes. Jakobi Heady wasn’t far behind with 21 points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals in the defeat. 

Ball State Cardinals Betting Preview

Over on the Ball State side, they’ve done slightly better in the record column this season so far, but it’s still been quite a bumpy ride. The Cardinals were above .500 after four straight wins back in early January, then lost five of the next seven versus Miami Ohio, Ohio, Toledo, Northern Illinois, and Western Michigan (with wins over Bowling Green and Central Michigan). It’s been a 5-4 stretch since then with wins over Buffalo, Southern Miss, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, and Buffalo among losses to Akron, Toledo, Akron again and Bowling Green. That gives the Cards a 14-15 record in 29 games thus far. 

Matched up against Bowling Green on Saturday, Ball State was down 25-24 by halftime. The Cardinals didn’t end up getting any closer than that on a 36-28 deficit in the second half and lost the game 61-52. Mickey Pearson was the leading scorer with 15 points, four rebounds and two assists. Payton Sparks was the only other player on the team to reach double-figures, hitting 14 points with seven boards and two assists. 

Why the Ball State Cardinals will win

• Central Michigan has lost each of its last six road night games against Conference opponents.
• Ball State has won four of its last five home games.
• Ball State has won the first half in six of its last seven home games against Central Michigan.

Why the Central Michigan Chippewas will win

• Ball State has lost four of its last five night games at John E. Worthen Arena.
• Central Michigan has won three of its last four games following a road loss.
• The road team has won the first half in three of Central Michigan’s last four games.

Central Michigan vs Ball State Prediction

I’ll stick with Ball State but I’m probably not touching this one. There’s not a lot to like here with both teams struggling right now. In any case, the Cardinals didn’t play well in their latest road loss to Bowling Green. Ball State hit just 33.9 percent from the field in that one and had 10 turnovers. The Cardinals have now lost three of the last four games, with 66 or fewer points in two of those three losses. 

These teams last saw each other on January 21 in an 82-80 road win for Ball State. The Cardinals came back from a 41-33 halftime deficit in that one to eventually shoot 54 percent from the field. Ball State was terrible with ball control though, giving up 19 turnovers for 24 CMU points. If the Cardinals can clean that up in the rematch, however, they should be fine.