Halftime Report

A win for Valparaiso would push their record over .500, and after one quarter of play they've put themselves in a good position to make it happen. They have jumped out to a quick 36-31 lead against Central Michigan.

Valparaiso came into the matchup with some extra motivation after the defeat they were dealt the last time these two teams faced off. We'll see if they're able to flip the script or if it'll just be more of the same.

Who's Playing

Central Michigan Chippewas @ Valparaiso Beacons

Current Records: Central Michigan 5-3, Valparaiso 4-4

How To Watch

What to Know

The Central Michigan Chippewas will face off against the Valparaiso Beacons at 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at Athletics-Recreation Center. The Chippewas are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 79.6 points per game this season.

Last Thursday, everything went Central Michigan's way against Aquinas College as Central Michigan made off with a 93-69 victory. The Chippewas have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three matches by 24 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Valparaiso came up short against Drake last Thursday and fell 66-60. The Beacons haven't had much luck with the Bulldogs recently, as the team's come up short the last six times they've met.

Valparaiso's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Tyler Schmidt, who went 7 for 9 en route to 20 points, and Isaiah Shaw, who went 5 for 7 en route to 15 points. Shaw's performance made up for a slower matchup against DePaul two weeks ago.

Valparaiso struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've posted since back in January.

Central Michigan is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 5-3 record this season. As for Valparaiso, their loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 4-4.

Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Central Michigan hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 79.6 points per game. However, it's not like Valparaiso struggles in that department as they've been averaging 77. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.

Central Michigan is hoping to beat the odds on Saturday, as the experts think they're headed for a loss. They might be worth a quick bet since they're sitting on a four game streak of covering the spread when playing as the underdog.

Odds

Valparaiso is a slight 1-point favorite against Central Michigan, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 1-point spread, and stayed right there.


The over/under is 144.5 points.

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Series History

Central Michigan has won 2 out of their last 3 games against Valparaiso.

  • Dec 06, 2023 - Central Michigan 71 vs. Valparaiso 67
  • Dec 12, 2020 - Central Michigan 84 vs. Valparaiso 79
  • Dec 08, 2019 - Valparaiso 77 vs. Central Michigan 55