We're set to continue our coverage of early-season College Basketball action as we head to the Midwest for this next showdown. The Northwestern Wildcats (1-0) will visit the Dayton Flyers (1-0) as both teams look for a hot start to the season. It's time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Northwestern-Dayton prediction and pick.
The Northwestern Wildcats won their season opener 90-46 over Lehigh. Despite dealing with a number of key starters leaving after last season, they return a number of key pieces and will hope to continue the tournament success they've seen over the last couple of years.
The Dayton Flyers opened their season with a 87-57 win over St. Francis (PA). They were the much better team in all phases of the game and they're looking to be the favorites emerging out of the A-10 Conference. They'll look for a win here hoping to start their season with an undefeated streak.
Here are the Northwestern-Dayton College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
College Basketball Odds: Northwestern-Dayton Odds
Northwestern: +4.5 (-110)
Moneyline: +162
Dayton: -4.5 (-110)
Moneyline: -196
Over: 137.5 (-110)
Under: 137.5 (-110)
How to Watch Northwestern vs. Dayton
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT
TV: ESPN+
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why Northwestern Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Northwestern Wildcats will have to adjust to life without former stars, Boo Buie and Ryan Langborg. The duo helped lead the Wildcats to 22 wins last season, but they should be in good hands given the rest of their lineup's experience in big tournament situations. Junior Nick Martinelli was sensational in the opener with a 26-point and 10-rebound double-double. He's already looking like a solid catalyst for this team in the paint and his crafty scoring should serve this offense well moving forward.
Aside from Martinelli, four other players reach double-digit totals as this Wildcats team does a great job moving the ball and finding the open man in transition. They also shot an impressive 45% from three as a team in their opener, so expect their three-and-d attitude to be a common theme throughout this season. Don't sleep on the Wildcats to make some noise in the Big Ten this year.
Why Dayton Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Dayton Flyers come into this season with a ton of potential boosted by some new faces to the roster. Ohio State transfer Zed Key made an immediately impact in his debut with a team-high 14 points on 4-4 shooting from the field. Five of their players scored in double-digits with Malachi Smith returning as their best player on offense. He's been clutch for the Flyers over the years and their biggest focus will be keeping him healthy in putting the ball in his hands during crucial late-game situations.
While the Flyers failed to produce much from three-point range in their first game, they showed a great ability to cut through the defense and get to the bucket with aggressive tries. They managed 25 attempts from the charity stripe, converting on 17 of those attempts and immediately putting their opponents in foul trouble. They could use a similar strategy against a Northwestern team that like to crash to the ball.
Final Northwestern-Dayton Prediction & Pick
This should be a fun matchup as both teams played very well in their season openers. The Northwestern Wildcats controlled the pace of their game and played very fundamental basketball with forward Nick Martinelli being all over the floor. The Dayton Flyers put together a much more collective effort in their opener, resulting in a dominant win nonetheless. Both teams should match up against each other fairly well.
The Flyers have certainly been the better team in terms of depth and they have a number of capable scorers in their starting five that can drive to the rim and get to the line. If they can force the big men of Northwestern into foul trouble, Dayton could win another game with a lopsided total on their free throws.
Still, I like the size of the Wildcats and their ability to spread the floor with their three-point shooting. They're much better from deep than their opponents and if they can see some of their shots fall early, they should be able to keep this home crowd out of the game and themselves within striking range. For our final prediction, let's roll with the Northwestern Wildcats to cover the spread and get this tough win on the road.
Final Northwestern-Dayton Prediction & Pick: Northwestern +4.5 (-110)
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