Valparaiso vs UIC College Basketball Picks, Odds, Predictions 11/13/2021
UIC Flames (0-1) vs. Valparaiso Beacons (0-1)
November 13, 2021 1:00 pm EDT
The Line: Valparaiso Beacons -3 ; Over/Under: 129
(Get latest betting odds)
The UIC Flames and the Valparaiso Beacons meet Saturday in college basketball action from Athletics-Recreation Center. UIC played Dayton in their opener this week, eventually falling by 10 points. As for the Beacons, they played Toledo in their first game. Valparaiso lost that one by eight points. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
UIC had a down year in 2020-21, finishing 9-13 overall and 6-10 in Horizon League play. The Flames landed just two spots out of the basement in the conference standings, and finished their season with a loss to Youngstown State in the Horizon League Tournament.
In their opener versus Dayton, the Flames had a 32-25 lead at the break but scored just 22 points from there in a 64-54 loss. Zion Griffin led the team with his 17 points, three rebounds and one assist. Damaria Franklin added 13 points with four rebounds as well.
Over on the Beacons’ side, they posted a 10-18 record overall last year with a 7-11 MVC mark that left the team tied for fifth place in the standings. Valparaiso lost in their first game of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament game to Missouri State 66-55.
Valparaiso took on Toledo in their first game of the year, going into halftime with a 35-33 deficit. The Beacons could only score 28 points from there in a 69-61 loss. Thomas Kithier led the team with his 16 points, five rebounds and two assists.
Valparaiso is 4-0 ATS in their last four Saturday games and 4-1 ATS in their last five after an ATS loss. The Beacons are 1-4 ATS in their last five overall.
Meanwhile, the Flames are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 overall and 2-8 ATS in their last 10 road games. UIC is 1-5 ATS in their last six after an ATS win.
PICK: I’m going UIC, but probably not messing with this game. The Flames had a pretty decent run from 3-point range in the Dayton loss (10-of-28) but overall shot just 36.8 percent from the field. UIC was out-rebounded 41-27 and committed 22 fouls to the Flyers’ nine. It was a tale of two halves, and the Flames came out on the wrong end of that.
As for Valparaiso, they had four double-digit scorers in their win this week but didn’t get much involvement from their role players. I like this game to be pretty close most of the way, with UIC eking into a cover late. Should be a fun matchup.
