Valparaiso vs Evansville 2/21/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Evansville Purple Aces will travel to the Athletics-Recreation Center to take on the Valparaiso Beacons this Monday night in College Basketball action.

The Evansville Purple Aces (6-20) will look to avoid losing their 2^nd straight game against the Valparaiso Beacons (12-15) after the Evansville lost to Valparaiso by a 72-56 margin this past Saturday. Evansville had no answers on the defensive end for Valparaiso and could not fight back after going into halftime trailing by a 39-23 margin. Evansville shot 420% from the field & 25.0% from beyond the arc while Valparaiso shot 60.0% from the field & 45.5% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Purple Aces was Shamar Givance who had 21 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, & 3 steals while the Beacons were led by Kobe King who had 21 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, & 1 block.

On the season, Evansville is averaging 59.1 ppg on 39.7% shooting from the field. The Purple Aces are averaging 8.0 three-pointers per game on 32.2% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Evansville has been led by Shamar Givance (14.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.5 spg), Jawaun Newton (13.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.2 apg), Evan Kuhlman (7.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.2 spg), & Noah Frederking (6.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.0 spg). Jawaun Newton has missed the past two weeks due to a knee injury should be considered at best, questionable for this matchup.

Defensively, Evansville is allowing their opponents to average 69.1 ppg on 48.8% shooting from the field. The Purple Aces have a rebound margin of -6.3 and a turnover margin of 0.3.

On the season, Valparaiso is averaging 71.5 ppg on 46.2% shooting from the field. The Beacons are averaging 7.4 three-pointers per game on 33.7% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Valparaiso has been led by Ben Krikke (14.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.5 apg), Kobe King (14.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.2 spg), Kevion Taylor (12.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.0 spg), & Sheldon Edwards (11.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.1 spg).

Defensively, Valparaiso is allowing their opponents to average 70.8 ppg on 45.3% shooting from the field. The Beacons have a rebound margin of -1.8 and a turnover margin of 0.9.

The Purple Aces are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS win, however, are just 5-12 ATS in their last 17 road games. The Beacons are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall & 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games vs. a team with a losing straight up record.

Evansville has struggled on both sides of the ball this season as the Purple Aces come into this game ranked just 346^th in scoring offense, 342^nd in FG%, & 348^th in defensive FG%. Valparaiso has been led by their offense which ranks 165^th in scoring offense & 66^th in FG%, however, the defense has struggled at times as the Beacons currently rank just t-227^th in scoring defense & 287^th in defensive FG%.

Evansville is just 2-9 on the road this season and it’s hard to imagine the offense is going to have much success on the road, especially if they are still going to be without Jawaun Newton. Valparaiso had no trouble picking up the 16-point victory on Saturday and as I expect their offense to have even more success on their home court, I think the Beacons do enough to cover this large home spread. Good Luck!