Southern Illinois vs Illinois State 1/14/23 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Illinois State Redbirds and the Southern Illinois Salukis meet Saturday in college basketball action from SIU Arena. Illinois State is 8-10 on the year so far. The Redbirds beat Missouri State in their last game on Wednesday. As for Southern Illinois, they’re 13-5 following a win over Indiana State. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Illinois State was 5-7 after 12 games this year, beating Eastern Illinois, Northwestern State, Belmont, Eastern Michigan and SIUE in that time. The Redbirds have since gone 3-3 with wins over Chicago State, Evansville and Missouri State. 

In the Missouri State game on Wednesday, the Redbirds scored 30 points in the first half, 31 more in the second and 15 in overtime for a 76-66 victory. Seneca Knight was the leading team scorer on 22 points and nine boards. 

Over on the Southern Illinois side, they were 8-4 over their first 12 games. The Salukis lost to Southern Indiana, UNLV, Saint Louis and Indiana State in that stretch. Southern Illinois is 5-1 in their last six games with a lone loss to Northern Iowa. 

In the Indiana State game on Wednesday, the Salukis were down 36-26 at halftime. Southern Illinois posted a 43-25 run in the second for the comeback win 69-61. Lance Jones led the way on 18 points and two rebounds. 

PICK: I’m going to stick with Southern Illinois. The Salukis started slow versus Indiana State in their last outing but ended up with a nice comeback win against a pretty good team. Southern Illinois is 8-1 in their last nine games, but have scored 70 or more points in just three of those nine outings. As for Illinois State, they’ve been a mixed bag on offense lately but they’ve hit 67 or more in three straight. If the Redbirds can turn this into a shootout I think they’ll be in line for a cover. If not, Southern Illinois probably has the advantage.