Northwestern Favored to Top Visiting Northern Illinois Again
The Northern Illinois vs Northwestern Betting Odds Have the Wildcats As Double-Digit Favorites
Northwestern Returns Home Looking to Rebound From the First Loss of the Season
Northern Illinois and Northwestern will be squaring off for the second year in a row after not meeting for more than a decade. The NIU vs Northwestern betting odds list Northwestern as a double-digit point favorite.
Northwestern is coming off a loss to Mississippi State in the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-off event after winning its first four games by an average of 7.8 points. Northern Illinois has won five games in a row since a season-opening loss to Marquette.
When looking at the college basketball predictions, Northwestern is a 13-point favorite in this NCAAB matchup.
There hasn’t been much movement in the line, but the total has gone from 145 to 141.5.
Guard Quaran McPherson hasn’t played since a Nov. 13 win over Illinois Tech for Northern Illinois.
For Northwestern, guard Justin Mullins hasn’t played since a season-opening win over Binghamton.
When it comes to the NCAAB picks, Northwestern came into the season eighth at +2500 in the odds of winning the Big Ten title.
Northwestern is barely inside the top 60 with +4000 odds to reach the Final Four.
NIU vs Northwestern 
Day/Time:
Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, IL
StreamB1G+
LineB1G+Total143
Northeast Connection Powering the Huskies
The top three scorers for Northern Illinois hail from New Jersey or New England.
David Coit has scored in double digits in every game this season, and he is coming off a career-high 34 points in a win over DePaul aided by eight 3-pointers.
Zarique Nutter has connected on at least 50% of his shots in each of the last five games. Keep that in mind when looking at the Northern Illinois vs Northwestern betting odds.
DePaul transfer Philmon Gebrewhit is putting up 12.5 points per game.
Northern Illinois has covered against the college basketball betting odds in its last five games.
Wildcats Looking to Bounce Back
Northwestern shot its way out of the game against Mississippi State by missing 20 of 26 shots from 3-point range and connected on fewer than 40% of its shots for the first time this season.
Ty Berry matched his season-high with three 3-pointers in the loss. He is tied for the team lead with leading scorer Boo Buie with 10 3-pointers.
Princeton transfer Ryan Langborg joins Brooks Barnhizer, who has more than doubled his scoring average, join Buie as double-digit scorers. They are the main reasons the NIU vs Northwestern betting odds favor the host Wildcats.
The total has gone under in four of Northwestern’s last five games.
Last Meeting
Buie had 13 points, six rebounds and seven assists and Berry chipped in with 11 points and 11 rebounds as Northwestern led by nine points at halftime on the way to a 63-46 win. Coit and Zutter combined for 16 points and 12 rebounds. It was the first meeting between the programs since 2010, as Northwestern improved to 10-2 against the Huskies.
Northwestern, a 17.5-point home favorite, led by 17 points with 1:55 left to play, but the Wildcats failed to cover after missing their last five shots.
The game fell well under the 145-point total.
Northern Illinois vs Northwestern Betting Preview
It will be a contrast of styles as Northern Illinois likes to push the pace. The Huskies are 21st in scoring offense at NCAA standings, but are tied for 288th in points allowed per game. Northwestern plays at a more methodical pace and ranks 43rd nationally with 9.4 steals per game.
Northwestern is 26th in the nation with just 9.2 turnovers per game, with the Wildcats forcing 16 turnovers.
Northwestern Wildcats is 3-0 at home but just 0-2-1 against the spread at home. The Wildcats are 1-2-1 against the college basketball spreads when listed as the favorite this season and 18-18-1 ATS at home over the last three seasons.
Northern Illinois is 31-20-1 against the Las Vegas odds as the underdog in the last three seasons and 4-0 this season. The Huskies have covered in each of its first three road games so far this season.
The total has gone over in four of Northern Illinois’ last five games with the total set at 145 for this matchup.
Northwestern has won its last eight games outright as double-digit favorites but is just 1-7 against the spread in those games.
Northern Illinois has lost its last four games when listed as a double-digit underdog but managed to cover in three of those matchups.
Northwestern has struggled to put NCAAB teams away this season so it won’t be a surprise to see the Huskies hang around in this matchup.
Up next for Northwestern is a matchup against Purdue, fresh off a pair of top-10 wins, so the Wildcats need to make sure their focus is on the game against Northern Illinois.
For NCAAB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
