Toledo (7-6) vs Eastern Michigan (7-6)
January 7, 2025 at 07:00 PM EST
The Line: Betting Odds: Toledo -11 / Eastern Michigan +11 — Over/Under:
The Eastern Michigan Eagles and the Toledo Rockets meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Savage Arena. Here’s an Eastern Michigan vs Toledo prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Eastern Michigan vs Toledo pick. We will examine:
The Eastern Michigan Eagles’ recent form and player performance
The Toledo Rockets’ recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Eastern Michigan Eagles
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Toledo Rockets
Recent betting trends in games played between Eastern Michigan vs Toledo
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Eastern Michigan vs Toledo game
Eastern Michigan Eagles Betting Preview
Eastern Michigan got off to a pretty solid start this year, but they’ve been sketchy over the last half dozen games. The Eagles kicked things off on a 5-2 clip, taking losses to only Texas State and Cleveland State in that stretch. Otherwise, it was wins over Siena Heights, IUPUI, Oakland, Houston Christian, and Northern Arizona at that time. Since then Eastern Michigan has gone just 2-4 over a six-game span. The only wins at that time were from Wright State and Northern Illinois. Otherwise, it’s been a string of losses versus Detroit, Loyola Chicago, Purdue Fort Wayne, and Davidson for a 7-6 overall run through 13 games this year.
In the Northern Illinois matchup over the weekend, the Eagles came out of the break sporting a 37-33 deficit. Eastern Michigan woke up in the second half however, surging to a 42-34 run and taking the comeback victory 75-71 to avoid a losing record. Da’Sean Nelson went off for 32 points, nine boards and two assists in the big win. Jalin Billingsley added 15 points with five boards in 32 minutes, and Christian Henry also finished in double-figures with 13 points, nine assists, and five rebounds. Dillon Tingler accounted for all the team’s bench points with five. Eastern Michigan will meet Akron after this game.
Toledo Rockets Betting Preview
Over on the Toledo side, they lost their opener this year versus Troy. The Rockets would then hit a win streak though, dispatching Marshall, Wright State, Detroit Mercy, Stetson, and Jacksonville State over the next five outings. Toledo has since hit the skids with a 2-5 run over their last seven outings. The Rockets have wins over Defiance and Western Michigan in that time but otherwise have chalked up losses versus UC San Diego, Oakland, Youngstown State, Houston, and Purdue for a 7-6 record through 13 games so far this year.
Matched up against Western Michigan over the weekend, the Rockets came out of halftime with a slim lead 35-33. Toledo got better in the second half with a 41-37 run and took the victory 76-70 in the end. Tops in scoring for the team was Sonny Wilson with 20 points, seven boards, five assists, and a steal. Sam Lewis added 14 points with 10 rebounds and two assists, while both Javan Simmons and Bryce Ford chipped in with nine points each. Leading the bench scorers in the victory was Andre Lorentsson with 10 points, one rebound and one steal.
Why the Toledo Rockets will win
- Toledo has won 16 of its last 17 games against the Mid-American Conference at Savage Arena.
- Eastern Michigan has lost 12 of its last 13 road night games against Conference opponents.
- Eastern Michigan has lost the first half in each of its last six games.
Why the Eastern Michigan Eagles will win
- Toledo has lost three of its last four games.
- The road team has won the first half in three of Eastern Michigan’s last four games.
Eastern Michigan vs Toledo Prediction
I’ll take a stab at Eastern Michigan here. Both teams have been flailing lately however and each could use a win here. The Eagles dispatched a struggling Northern Illinois team in their last game, eventually hitting 45 percent from the field with a 39-30 rebounding edge. The outside shooting was quite poor, however, as Eastern Michigan hit just five of their 23 3-point attempts (21.7 percent). The slow start didn’t inspire much confidence either. In any case, the Eagles haven’t been scoring too badly lately. They’ve got 71 or more points in three of the last four games (a 2-2 run), so Eastern Michigan should be in pretty good shape if they can reach that threshold in Tuesday’s matchup.
As for Toledo, they haven’t been scoring great lately with fewer than 65 points in four of their last seven. The Rockets shouldn’t look too bad here, but I also think it’s EMU’s cover to take.