Free NCAA Basketball Picks: Our Best Bets for February 9 (Archive)
If those four areas are executed, Northern Kentucky will be on its way to starting another winning streak. Let’s break down the NCAAB odds for this matchup!
Northern Kentucky Norse vs. Milwaukee Panthers
Wednesday, February 9, 2022 – 8:00 PM EST at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena
The Northern Kentucky Norse will look to start a new winning streak, on the road, against the Milwaukee Panthers. The Milwaukee Panthers are currently 314th in KenPom rankings and have lost five straight games in conference play, all by 10 or more points.
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Meanwhile, Northern Kentucky, despite taking a loss to Detroit Mercy in its last game, has won six of their last seven games. Northern Kentucky will need to do two things very well on the offensive end tonight. That's three-point shooting and offensive rebounding.
The Norse are averaging 36.1 percent offensive rebounds while hitting 33.3 percent from long range. Of course, Northern Kentucky is also scoring over 38 percent of its point from three-point land this season.
Despite shooting 33.3 percent, they've got guys who aren't afraid to shoot threes, and when open, those shots will fall. The Norse turn the ball over just under 20 percent of the time, however, Milwaukee isn't really a threat to force turnovers.
The Panthers only force 14.8 percent turnovers per game this season, which is a bottom 20 number in college basketball. The Panthers have been solid defending inside, but already, Northern Kentucky is scoring just 45.5 percent of their points from inside the arc, which is 316th in the league.
They'd rather shoot threes and rebound off the misses. The Panthers have also allowed teams to earn 30.5 percent offensive rebounds, so things look good on the end too. On the flip side, there's not a single thing that Milwaukee does well on the offensive end.
The Panthers have shot a 48.2 percent effective field goal percentage while turning the ball over 19.4 percent of the time. The Panthers aren't effective on the offensive glass either, earning just 25.9 percent offensive rebounds.
Plus, this team rarely gets to the line. Milwaukee has knocked in just 32.3 percent from deep and 48.1 percent from inside the arc, which is both below-average numbers. Milwaukee is shooting 72.8 percent from the line, but Northern Kentucky is in the top 50 when it comes to free throws attempted to field goals attempted. Opponents aren't getting to the line at a high rate against Northern Kentucky.
Prediction
There's a good chance that the Norse keep Milwaukee off the charity stripe, but also a great chance Northern Kentucky earns a ton of turnovers. The Norse have been forcing turnovers 21.1 percent of the time, which is a pretty high rate, sitting at 58th in the nation.
Basically, the expectation for our NCAAB picks is that Northern Kentucky shoots a high percentage from three while earning a high amount of offensive rebounds on the offensive end. On the defensive end, we're expecting Northern Kentucky to earn a bunch of turnovers and keep Milwaukee off the line.
NCAAB Pick: Northern Kentucky –140 with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.