Youngstown State Penguins vs Central Michigan Chippewas Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 2

Youngstown State is playing its third straight road game, and this one is in Mount Pleasant against a 2-0 Central Michigan team that already won on the road at UL Monroe. The Chippewas are favored by 2.5 at home behind Phat Phat Brooks.

The Matchup

Central Michigan hosts Youngstown State on Tuesday night at McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant, on ESPN+, with Central Michigan a 2.5-point favorite, a total of 152.5, and the Chippewas priced at -155 on the moneyline against Youngstown State at +130. Central Michigan is 2-0. Youngstown State is 1-1, and both of its games have been on the road, because its whole season so far has been on the road.

Youngstown State won 79-71 at St. Bonaventure on November 3, a quality road win by any measure, then lost 89-65 at Ohio State on November 6. Linus Holmstrom leads the Penguins at 19.0 points a game, Dom Aekins hands out 6.0 assists a game, and Kelvin Amoako leads them on the glass at 7.5 rebounds a game. Holmstrom, Aekins, and Amoako are all active with no injury designations. The Penguins have scored 72.0 points a game and allowed 80.0, with the Ohio State game doing most of the damage to the second number.

Central Michigan won 83-78 at UL Monroe on November 3 and beat Alma 93-50 at home on November 7. Phat Phat Brooks is the offense: he leads the Chippewas at 17.5 points a game and 5.0 assists a game, and Conrad Luczynski leads them on the glass at 7.0 rebounds a game. Brooks and Luczynski are both active with no injury designations. Central Michigan has scored 88.0 points a game and allowed 64.0, with the Alma game flattering both numbers.

Last season is the cold water on Central Michigan's start, and it belongs in the open. The Chippewas went 10-21, scoring 73.4 points a game and allowing 76.9. Youngstown State went 15-17, scoring 78.0 and allowing 73.1, the better program a year ago. A 2-0 start built on UL Monroe and Alma is a beginning for Central Michigan, not a verdict. Tuesday is the first home game that tells anyone anything.

Key Factors

The schedule spot is the largest single fact in this game. This is Youngstown State's third straight road game to open the season: at St. Bonaventure, at Ohio State, and now at Mount Pleasant, with the Ohio State beating four days ago in between. Road teams in that spot tend to play one flat half, and a 2.5-point spread does not forgive a flat half. Central Michigan, meanwhile, has already proven it can win a tight game away from home, beating UL Monroe by 5 in a game that stayed live to the end.

Brooks against Aekins decides the tempo. Both guards lead their teams in assists, and the one who controls the game controls the total of 152.5 as well. Brooks has been the more productive of the two so far, at 17.5 points and 5.0 assists a game, and he plays this one in his own building. Youngstown State's counterweight is Holmstrom, the best pure scorer in the game at 19.0 a night, and a Penguins defense that held St. Bonaventure to 71 in a true road win.

The honest counterpoint is that Youngstown State owns the best win in this matchup by a wide margin, and it is not close. Winning at St. Bonaventure is harder than anything Central Michigan has done, and the Penguins' only loss came at Ohio State, where most teams in the country lose by 24.

If Holmstrom outplays Brooks and the Penguins' road legs hold up for a third straight game, the wrong team is favored. The bet is that the travel finally collects its tax, at the end of a long opening week, in a loud mid-major building.

Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.