The Northwestern Wildcats made history by making the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history last week. Northwestern was looking to get back to the Big Dance and make it a trend this year. However, it’s been tough sledding for the team thus far.
Northwestern is off to a 10-7 start and has suffered some really bad losses. It got hammered by Texas Tech and Oklahoma, and 15-point losses to Nebraska and Penn State to start the new year did not inspire confidence. The Wildcats need a win in big way when they face the Indiana Hoosiers on Sunday.
This war on the floor will go down Sunday, January 14, 2018, at 4:30 p.m. ET at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana. The game will be televised live on CBS. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Sunday schedule.
Opening College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
The Hoosiers have had some ups and downs under Archie Miller. They could not beat either of the small-conference in-state schools on their schedule, but did knock off Notre Dame while they still had Bonzie Colson.
Indiana has covered the number in four of their last five names and even scored a huge road win over Minnesota on the road. This team has started to play solid defense and has not allowed more than 71 points in any of its last six. That has helped the under cash in seven of the last ten games.
At one point this season, the under had cashed in seven straight games for Northwestern. The Wildcats have struggled against good guards that can play at a fast tempo all season though. That is why the team is sitting at 6-9 ATS on the year.
Key Injury
Indiana got bad news earlier this week when it was announced that forward De’Ron Davis will be out for the rest of the season after tearing his Achilles tendon. Davis had been the team’s third-leading scorer prior to the injury and one of the team’s most efficient shooters.
Although he wasn’t a starter, Davis was a key rotation player and was playing significant minutes in Miller’s system. He was expected to have seen more playing time as the season wore on, as he was one of the best frontcourt players on an undersized Indiana team.
Not having Davis is sure to hurt Indiana and will help a Northwestern squad that had some big rebounding woes. Northwestern is outside the top 200 in rebounding and one of the worst teams in the Big Ten in this regard.
Key Stat
Northwestern has a significant advantage over Indiana when it comes to perimeter shooting. The Wildcats have some really good three-point shooters and are one of the better shooting teams in the country in this regard. They are hitting 36.5 percent of their threes this season, a number that ranks in the top 100 in the country. Although Scottie Lindsey is hitting under 35 percent of his chances, the team’s next three shooters are all hitting at least 36 percent.
The Hoosiers have been abysmal with their perimeter shooting. As a team, they are hitting 30.5 percent of their threes, a number that ranks in the bottom 40 in the country. No player on the roster that is averaging at least one attempt a game is hitting better than 34.5 percent from three and that is appallingly bad.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
This is a great chance for Northwestern to pick up a nice road win. Although neither team has been particularly impressive, the Wildcats match up well against the Hoosiers. Without Davis in the lineup, Indiana has to rely on Juwan Morgan even more. Northwestern will focus its defensive efforts around him and that will give them the upset victory.
College Basketball Odds: Northwestern 72, Indiana 67
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