DePaul Blue Demons vs Northern Illinois Huskies

DePaul has really struggled being competitive in the Big East. They have started the season 1-4 and have lost to four teams at a lower level than they are. It looks like another long season for the Demons who have returned just one starter. They will need their track shoes to keep up with Northern Illinois tonight. The Huskies have shot better than 50% in three of their last four, and in those games they have averaged 91.5ppg. Coach Stubblefield has seen his team go 9-1 ATS to the OVER following a 15 point or greater loss., and 7-0 ATS to the OVER since the start of last season. Make the play OVER the total.

DePaul is off to a good start behind 6-11 sophomore Tommy Hamilton IV (13 points per game, 7 rebounds per game) and 6-6 junior Myke Henry (19.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg). They crash the boards while a pair of guards average 3.5 and 4.3 assists in this potent offense that averages 78.3 ppg (#41 in the nation). The Blue Demons are off a nice one on Sunday with an 87-72 win over Stanford and they are 5-1 ATS against a team with a winning record. They face a MAC team in Northern Illinois and DePaul holds a 25-6 advantage with wins in each of the last three meetings, and the Blue Demons have won seven of the last nine games. The Huskies opened the season with two wins before a 70-49 loss at Iowa of the Big 10. The value here is with the bigger, better team to win the game, so take DePaul on the moneyline.

DePaul is a big favorite but they don't take small schools seriously, with the Blue Demons 8-17-1 ATS in their last 26 games vs. a team with a losing record. A young Northern Illinois squad is showing plenty of fight on a 3-0 ATS run including splitting the last two games, beating Southern Illinois  and taking Wisconsin-Milwaukee to OT the last game before falling, but covering as a double digit dog. Akeem Springs is coming off a career-high 21 points and nine rebounds, is averaging 11.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game on the road. Depaul is off a big win miles from home after defeating Arizona State, 78-61, as a +6 dog. The Blue Demons are 2-7-1 ATS in their last ten against the MAC and 16-34-1 ATS in their last 51 home games vs. a team with a road winning percentage of less than .400. The two schools have met in each of the last two seasons with the Blue Demons winning each game, but the last one played on this floor was two years ago and was an 86-84 squeaker on Dec. 2, 2010. In fact, the road team is 5-1 ATS in the last six meetings. Play Northern Illinois.

Combine the Braves (-1500) and the Tigers (-255) into a 2-team parlay at -206 odds.