Cleveland State vs. Detroit Prediction, Preview, and Odds

On Thursday, the Cleveland State Vikings (14-9, 9-3 Horizon) visit Detroit, Michigan and Calihan Hall for an Horizon League game against the Detroit Mercy Titans (8-15, 4-8 Horizon). Cleveland State defeated IUPUI 78-72 on Sunday for its third consecutive victory and sixth win in the last seven games. Cleveland State is tied for first place in the Horizon League with three other teams. Detroit Mercy was defeated by Youngstown State 73-63 on Sunday and the Titans have lost each of the last three. Cleveland State and Detroit Mercy do not have any players listed on their respective injury lists.

Cleveland State battling for first in a tightly contested Horizon League

Cleveland State is one of four teams at 9-3 in the Horizon League standings, two games ahead of the fifth place Oakland Grizzlies. Each game of Cleveland's remaining eight regular season games will be very important for conference tournament seeding. Cleveland is scoring an average of 70.3 points per game while shooting 45.6% overall but only 30.7% from long distance. The Vikings are allowing an average of 65.8 points per game, while holding opponents to a 41.9% field goal shooting percentage and a 32.0% shooting percentage.

Tristan Enaruna is the leading scorer for Cleveland State with an average of 14.1 points per game while shooting 49.2% overall and only 18.9% from behind a three-point line. However, Enaruna takes most of his shots from inside the line, attempting only 37 3-pointers this season. Tae Williams is the second leading scorer with an average of 10.6 points per game and shoots 53.8% overall and has only taken 9 3-pointers this season. Deshon Parker is the leader in assists with an average of 4.0 dishes per contest. Enaruna is the leading rebounder for Cleveland State with an average of 6.3 per game and the Vikings as a team average 34.5 boards per contest. Williams is the leader in steals with an average of 1.6 per game and Deante Johnson is the rim protector with an average at 1.0 blocked shots per contest.

Detroit Mercy scores plenty but gives up far too many

Detroit Mercy has the leading scorer in the nation in Antoine Davis, who was averaging 26.0 points per game, and as a team the Titans are scoring an average of 75.3 points per game. Detroit is shooting 43.0% overall and 38.5% from behind the three-point line, which is 18th best in the nation. However, Detroit Mercy is allowing 77.0 points per game while opponents are shooting 46.4% overall and 37.7% from long distance.

Big 3 by Anderson to stop the Penguins run #DetroitsCollegeTeam#HLMBBpic.twitter.com/zxJAhzzUVm

— Detroit Mercy MBB (@DetroitMBB) January 29, 2023

As mentioned earlier, Davis is scoring an average of 26.0 points per game, while shooting 40.7% overall and an impressive 40.5% from behind the 3-point line. Davis has made 105 of his 259 3-point attempts this season. Gerald Liddell is the second leading scorer with an average of 15.9 points per game and is shooting 43.6% overall while hitting 35.7% of his long range attempts. Each of the top five scorers for Detroit Mercy are shooting between 34.0% and 51.9% from 3-point territory. Davis is the leader in assists with an average of 3.5 dishes per contest. Detroit Mercy averages 35.7 rebounds for a game led by Damezi Anderson with an average of 4.7 boards per game. Davis is the leader in steals with an average of 1.0 per game and TJ Moss averages a team best 0.3 blocked shots.

Best Bets for this Game

Full-Game Side Bet

Insiders Status:

Rating:

Cleveland State has far more to play for in this matchup as the Vikings are battling for a high seed in the Horizon League tournament, while Detroit is well down the standings. In the first meeting between the two played earlier this season Cleveland State won by 15 points and in doing so easily covered as a 2-point home favorite. Cleveland State has covered the spread in each of his last five with the only failed cover in that span when defeating IUPUI by six points as a 17-point favorite. Detroit Mercy has failed to cover the spread in each of its last four and in seven of the last nine. Although Detroit has the leading scorer in the nation Antoine Davis (26.0 ppg), the Titans do not have enough other firepower on offense to play with most opponents.

Prediction: Cleveland State Vikings +1.5

Fan Dual is offering a crazy $3k "no sweat" first bet to new customers. If you're not already signed up, take advantage of this offer!!! Use it to build your bankroll with minimal risk. Deposit as much as you can responsibly, and play it on something safe that you have tons of  confidence on. BOOM! Cash that and virtually double your bankroll, setting you up for a great year! 21+ only, see offer for additional T&C.

Full-Game Total Pick

Insiders Status:

Rating:

The total has finished over in each of Cleveland State's last three and in five of the Vikings last 7, while the total has finished over in seven of Detroit Mercy's last 9. In the first game between the two played on December 3, a total of 169 points were scored that easily finished over the closing line of 133.5 points. Detroit Mercy is hitting 38.5% of its 3 point attempts and has taken 374 (16.3 per game) this season which means more points in fewer possessions

Prediction: OVER 145.5

Kevin grew up in a sports-only household. Every afternoon was set to watching any sport that was on T.V. After years of watching sports he got introduced to the betting world, and soon stats, trends, and odds were Kevin's best friends. Now, almost 2 decades later, His life revolves around sports, writing about them, and betting on them. We are glad to have Kevin on our Winners & Whiners & StatSalt teams and you should be happy that we have him as well.