Northern Illinois beat Bellarmine 72-64 on the road in Louisville.
Uzziah Buntyn led Northern Illinois with 19 points and 4 3-pointers. Kenyon Goodin had 15 points for Bellarmine. Brayden Gross led all players with 13 rebounds for Northern Illinois.
Northern Illinois covered the closing spread. Our model missed the final margin by 10.6 points.
Scott Davenport, a Louisville native who won a state title at Ballard High in 1988, went 423-192 in 20 seasons at Bellarmine before retiring in March 2025.
Before the game
Our preview, as it ran before tip ·
Northern Illinois vs. Bellarmine prediction: model has Bellarmine by 3
Northern Illinois visits Bellarmine (1-3) at Knights Hall in Louisville Saturday at 2 PM ET on ESPN+.
Our model makes Bellarmine a 2.6-point favorite, projecting a 79-76 final, and gives Bellarmine a 58% chance to win. The betting market has Northern Illinois favored by 1.5 with a total of 149.5. The model leans Bellarmine +1.5 and Over 149.5.
Players to watch: Jacob Wassler of Bellarmine, 10.1 points a game; Julius Gizzi of Bellarmine, 8.1 points a game; Demarcus Surratt of Bellarmine, 4.7 points a game.
OverUnderFavoriteUnderdogThe colored fill is the gap between the model and the market: a full chip means 6 points or more. The number on each chip is that gap.
Leans are against the DraftKings closing line ESPN carries. Season record on the ratings page.
Line and result
Spread (home)
Total
ML home
ML away
Source
Open (first seen)
-1.0
152.5
our snapshots
Latest
+8.5
133.0
11011
-100000
our snapshots (6 books)
Close
+1.5
149.5
102
-122
DraftKings via ESPN
Margin -8 (home)ATS NIU coveredTotal 136 → under
Travel and rest coming in
Team
Rest days
Miles in
Road streak
Time zone
NIU
non-MAC team, not tracked
BELL
2
0
–
same
Rest is full days off between games. Miles are an estimate from the travel model (see the travel page).
