MAC Tournament: Ohio vs. Ball State odds, picks and predictions
The Ohio Bobcats (18-13, 10-8) and Ball State Cardinals (20-11, 11-7) meet Thursday in a 1st-round matchup in the Mid-American Conference Tournament. Tip from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland is at approximately 1:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook's lines around the Ohio vs. Ball Stateodds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Ohio enters the tournament with 7 wins in the last 9 games overall, while going 6-2 ATS in the last 8 outings.
The Bobcats had a fantastic offense in the regular season, averaging 78.6 PPG to rank 32nd in the country, while hitting 3-pointers at a 37.2% clip, good for 39th overall. Ohio struggles defensively, however, allowing 72.9 PPG, ranked 265th in the nation.
Ball State dropped 3 straight games to close the regular season, although 2 losses were to No. 1-seed Toledo, and to the defending MAC champ and 3-seed, Akron.
These teams played just once in the regular season, with the Bobcats winning 76-71 in Athens as a 2-point favorite with the 145 Over just coming through.
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