Illinois State vs UNC Wilmington College Basketball Picks, Odds, Predictions 11/9/21

The UNC Wilmington Seahawks and Illinois State Redbirds meet Tuesday in college basketball action at the Redbird Arena. The UNC Wilmington Seahawks have nowhere to go but up after seven wins and ending the year with five straight losses. The Illinois State Redbirds also won seven games last year and ended the season with three straight losses.

The UNC Wilmington Seahawks say goodbye to three of their five double-digit scorers, but there’s more than enough here to expect a respectable season. Jaylen Sims returns after averaging 17.8 points and 5.3 rebounds, while Mike Okauru averaged 14.2 points and 3.9 assists. Shykeim Phillips returns after averaging 2.5 assists and Jamahri Harvey averaged 2.1 rebounds. Sims was the leading scorer for the Seahawks, and Okauru is arguably the teams best player given how he impacts scoring, distributing and rebounding. The UNC Wilmington Seahawks won’t be pushovers this season.

The Illinois State Redbirds lose their best player in DJ Horne, but they have two of their three double-digit scorers for another year. Antonio Reeves returns after averaging 12.4 points and 3.3 rebounds, while Josiah Strong averaged 11.5 points and 2.7 assists. Sy Chatman dished 1.4 assists last season, and Emon Washington averaged four rebounds. Illinois State is very experienced with only two freshmen on its roster. Also, the return of Chatman could be the difference here, as he’s struggled to stay on the court the last two years but has true potential at the forward spot.

The Seahawks are 8-21-3 ATS in their last 32 road games and 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Redbirds are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games as a favorite and 0-5-1 ATS in their last 6 home games. The over is 5-2 in Seahawks last 7 overall. The under is 6-2 in Redbirds last 8 overall.

The Illinois State Redbirds should be favored and are a team that can make some serious noise this season. However, we can say the same about the UNC Wilmington Seahawks, who return two double-digit scorers and will have one of the top players in this game in Okauru. UNC Wilmington will be in this game until the end. Give me the points.