The Eastern Illinois Panthers and the DePaul Blue Demons meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Wintrust Arena. Here’s a DePaul vs Eastern Illinois prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best DePaul vs Eastern Illinois pick.
Eastern Illinois Panthers Betting Preview
The Panthers got off to a 1-2 start through their first three games this year thanks to a pair of blowout losses versus good teams. EIU fell 112-67 versus Illinois and 90-55 versus Indiana around a lone win of 97-61 versus Earlham.
Back on Friday versus Northwestern, the Panthers took another loss. Eastern Illinois stormed back from a 10-point halftime deficit to force OT but eventually fell 67-58. Nakyel Shelton was tops on the team with 19 points and four rebounds in 37 minutes of work.
DePaul Blue Demons Betting Preview
Over on the DePaul side, they’ve got four games in the can in 2024-25 and all four have been victories. The Demons eked by Southern Indiana 80-78 in the opener, then beat Prairie View 92 59 and Mercer 95-64 over their first trio.
In Friday’s matchup versus Duquesne, the Demons posted another blowout. DePaul was up 37-31 at the break, then scored 47 more in an 84-58 victory. Isaiah Rivera led the team with 18 points, while David Skogman put up 16 points and nine rebounds.
Why the DePaul Blue Demons will win
- Eastern Illinois has lost each of its last 20 road night games against non-conference opponents.
- DePaul has won 35 of its last 40 home night games against non-conference opponents.
- Eastern Illinois has lost the first half in each of its last 20 road night games against non-conference opponents.
Why the Eastern Illinois Panthers will win
- DePaul has lost 31 of its last 37 night games.
- DePaul has lost the first half in 20 of its last 24 games.
DePaul vs Eastern Illinois Prediction
I’m going to stick with DePaul. The Demons have looked pretty good so far with only one close game (against a better-than-their-record Southern Indiana team). DePaul shot a nice 53.7 percent from the field and 52 percent (13-of-25) from outside in their latest win over Duquesne. The 40-26 rebounding edge and 23 assists were impressive as well.
As for Eastern Illinois, they had 15 turnovers and shot just 3-of-19 (15.8 percent) in their latest loss to Northwestern. The Panthers have scored just 113 combined points in their last pair, so they’re going to have to find an early rhythm Tuesday if they want to compete.