The Valparaiso Beacons (9-12, 3-7 MVC) limp into battle with the Northern Iowa Panthers (11-9, 7-3) in Cedar Falls on Wednesday. Tip from McLeod Center is at 8 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Valparaiso vs. Northern Iowa odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Valparaiso won its last game 71-51 at Illinois State Saturday, winning outright as a 6.5-point underdog. The Beacons were able to stomp out the 20-point victory for a 3rd straight win but have had very few high points this season. Ranked 260th with 68.6 points per game and 264th with 72.2 points allowed per game, Valparaiso has struggled this season. These struggles have been even worse on the road where the Beacons are just 2-7.
Northern Iowa is one of the top teams in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Panthers have the advantage on home hardwood where they are 7-4. Their defense ranks 91st in the nation with 66.3 points allowed per game, although the offense is not much better then the Beacons at just 70.2 points per game (213th).
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Valparaiso at Northern Iowa odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:15 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Valparaiso +270 (bet $100 to win $270) | Northern Iowa -370 (bet $370 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Valparaiso +7.5 (-105) | Northern Iowa -7.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 137.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Valparaiso at Northern Iowa picks and predictions
Prediction
Northern Iowa 72, Valparaiso 66
Moneyline
PASS.
Valparaiso is 2-7 on the road this season while the Panthers are 7-4 at home. Valparaiso is struggling in conference play while Northern Iowa has been solid within the MVC. This makes me favor the home team, but not enough to lay almost 4-to-1 odds on it.
Against the spread
BET VALPARAISO +7.5 (-105).
While Northern Iowa is better, the Panthers should not be favored by this many points.
The Panthers squeezed out a 69-67 victory at Valpapaiso on Jan. 4 as 2.5-point favorites, but NIU should not gain a 5-point additional advantage just because this game on is on its home court. This line should be closer to 3.5 and I will take the value with the Beacons to keep it closer than the spread suggests.
Over/Under
OVER 137.5 (-115) is the total to make a play on.
While neither offense is good, neither are the defenses and this will allow both teams to gain easy baskets. As long as the pace stays high enough, this total is too low.
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