Northern Iowa vs Southern Illinois 1/7/23 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Southern Illinois Salukis and the Northern Iowa Panthers meet Saturday in college basketball action from McLeod Center. Southern Illinois is 12-4 overall this year. The Salukis beat Drake in their last game. As for Northern Iowa, they’re 7-8 so far following a win over Valparaiso on Wednesday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Southern Illinois went 6-4 over their first 10 games, losing to Southern Indiana, UNLV, Saint Louis and Indiana State. The Salukis have beaten Lincoln MO, Chicago State, SEMO, Murray State, Belmont and Drake in the last six outings. 

On Wednesday versus Drake, the Salukis were down 30-27 going into the break. Southern Illinois posted a 26-19 run from there and won it 53-49. Marcus Domask led the way on 21 points with eight rebounds. 

Over on the Northern Iowa side, they went 3-7 over their first 10 games this year, beating only Wartburg, Northern Illinois and Evansville in that time. The Panthers are 4-1 since then however, losing to only Missouri State. 

In the Wednesday matchup versus Valparaiso, Northern Iowa went into the second half up 41-38. The Panthers were outscored 29-28 from there but held on for the 69-67 win. Titan Anderson doubled up on 16 points with 12 rebounds in the victory. Michael Duax had 15 points and 12 boards as well. 

PICK: I might take a stab on Northern Iowa here. This one has the makings of a lower-scoring defensive battle, as neither of these teams has been lighting it up on the scoreboard lately—but they’ve both been winning. Northern Iowa has looked good during this 4-1 stretch; the team has only hit 70 points once during those five outings, though. As for Southern Illinois, they’ve been at 63 points or fewer in four of their last five games. This should be an interesting game, and I think the Panthers can keep the cover/win pace if they play well.