The UIC Flames and the Detroit Titans meet Thursday in college basketball action from Calihan Hall. UIC enters this one at 7-10 so far. The Flames lost to Wright State in their last game. As for Detroit, they’re 6-10 on the year and coming off a loss to Milwaukee. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
UIC posted a 4-8 run over their first dozen games this year, beating Valparaiso, Trinity IL, Central Michigan and Northern Illinois. After a three-game win streak, the Flames have since lost their last two to Northern Kentucky and Wright State.
In the Wright State matchup, the Flames were down 52-46 at halftime. UIC didn’t get any closer from there and ended up losing 97-81. Leading the team in scoring was Damaria Franklin with 25 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Over on the Detroit side, they went 0-6 to start out the season. The Titans then hit a 5-1 streak with a loss to Kent State as the only blemish. Since then it’s been three losses to Fort Wayne, Cleveland State and Green Bay before a win over Milwaukee.
Matched up against Milwaukee on Saturday, Detroit had a 34-33 deficit heading into halftime. The Titans went on a 38-24 run from there in a 71-58 win. Antoine Davis had a great game with 30 points, three rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Detroit is 7-0-1 ATS in their last eight at home and 1-5-2 ATS in their last eight Thursday games. The Titans are 5-2 ATS in their last seven overall.
Meanwhile, the Flames are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games overall and 4-9 ATS in their last 13 after an ATS loss. The over is 6-0 in UIC’s last six overall.
PICK: I’m going to try Detroit here. The Flames have had a few rough matchups lately, but they’re playing much better since the start of December. Detroit has hit 70 or more points in five of their last seven games, so they can certainly score when the matchup is right. The last time these teams met up was back on December 5. The Titans took the win in that one 64-56. I like this one to be a higher-scoring affair, with Detroit powering out a cover. Should be a fun matchup.