Dominick Petrillo
January 29, 2023 10:22 am ET
The Detroit Mercy Titans (8-14, 4-7 Horizon) visit the Youngstown State Penguins (16-6, 8-3) Sunday. Tip from Beeghly Center is at 2 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Detroit Mercy vs. Youngstown State odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Detroit Mercy brings its 3-10 road record into Youngstown to avenge an early January loss. The Penguins toppled the Titans 84-79 on Jan. 12 as 2-point favorites. Youngstown State is 3-1 since that game, while Detroit Mercy is 2-2.
The Penguins enter off a 77-73 victory over Oakland on Friday and will look to continue with their hot offensive output which currently ranks 6th in the nation with 84.1 points per game. Keeping up that output should be possible as Detroit Mercy ranks 333rd in the nation with 77.2 points allowed per game.
The Titans, also a high-scoring squad, put up 75.9 points per game (78th) and the Penguins allow 73.1 points per game (275th). There should be plenty of fireworks on the offensive side of the floor and Sunday’s meeting should be a high-scoring affair.
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Detroit Mercy at Youngstown State odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; accessUSA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:55 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Detroit Mercy +340 (bet $100 to win $340) | Youngstown State -475 (bet $475 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Detroit Mercy +9.5 (-115) | Youngstown State -9.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 157.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Detroit Mercy at Youngstown State picks and predictions
Prediction
Youngstown State 87, Detroit Mercy 75
Moneyline
PASS.
Detroit Mercy has struggled this season while Youngstown State has been one of the best teams in the Horizon Conference. This game should not be relatively risking nearly 5 times your potential return on the Penguins (-475) is not a good wager.
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Against the spread
BET YOUNGSTOWN STATE -9.5 (-105).
Youngstown State is coming off a 4-point home win over Oakland on Friday, failing to cover as a 9.5-point favorite, and that should serve as a wake-up call for this game.
I like the chances of a large spread manifesting Sunday as Detroit Mercy is not nearly as good as Oakland and doesn’t have the defense to hold down Youngstown.
Over/Under
BET OVER 157.5 (-115).
The line opened at 160 and I love the Over now that its been bet down.
Both of these teams have awful defenses. Sunday will seem like an NBA All-Star game where playing defense will be voluntary and not mandated.
I would not be surprised if Youngstown State breaks 100 on its home court, and 80 is certainly in store and this leads me to favor the Over in a big way.
Even if this line goes up before game time I still like the Over in this matchup of terrible defenses.
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