Eastern Illinois Panthers vs Tennessee State Tigers 1/29/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Tennessee State Tigers will travel to Lantz Arena to take on the Eastern Illinois Panthers this Saturday afternoon in College Basketball action.

The Tennessee State Tigers improved to 9-12 on the season after defeating the SIU Edwardsville Cougars, 75-70, this past Thursday. Tennessee State was solid offensively against SIU Edwardsville and was able to hold off the Cougars for the victory after taking a 62-54 lead with 8:25 left in regulation. Tennessee State shot 47.5% from the field & 20.0% from beyond the arc while allowing SIU Edwardsville to shoot 47.5% from the field & 40.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Tigers was Kassim Nicholson who had a double-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds, & 1 assist.

On the season, Tennessee State is averaging 73.6 ppg on 45.8% shooting from the field. The Tigers are averaging 6.9 three-pointers per game on 36.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Tennessee State has been led by Carlos Marshall Jr. (13.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.3 apg), Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. (11.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.3 apg), Kassim Nicholson (11.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.1 apg), & Dedric Boyd (10.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.0 apg).

Defensively, Tennessee State is allowing their opponents to average 71.9 ppg on 44.2% shooting from the field. The Tigers have a rebound margin of 2.2 and a turnover margin of -0.3.

The Eastern Illinois Panthers snapped an 11-game losing streak and improved to 3-17 on the season after defeating the UT-Martin Skyhawks, 58-53, this past Thursday. Eastern Illinois was outstanding on the defensive end against UT-Martin and was able to hold off the Skyhawks for the victory after taking a 53-49 lead with :53 seconds left in regulation. Eastern Illinois shot 53.8% from the field & 27.3% from beyond the arc while holding UT-Martin to just 37.3% shooting from the field & 13.6% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Panthers was Sammy Friday IV who had 13 points, 4 rebounds, & 1 assist.

On the season, Eastern Illinois is averaging 55.8 ppg on 39.3% shooting from the field. The Panthers are averaging 6.2 three-pointers per game on 32.0% shooting from beyond the arc.

Defensively, Eastern Illinois is allowing their opponents to average 72.0 ppg on 44.6% shooting from the field. The Panthers have a rebound margin of -8.5 and a turnover margin of -4.3.

The Tigers are 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 games & 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games vs. Eastern Illinois. The Panthers are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games & 0-6 ATS in their last 6 home games.

Tennessee State has been led by their offense which ranks 133^rd in scoring offense & 95^th in FG%, however, the Tigers have struggled a bit defensively and currently ranks just 258^th in scoring defense & 250^th in defensive FG%. Eastern Illinois has been bad on both ends of the court and currently rank just 349^th in scoring offense, 336^th in FG%, & t-260^th in scoring defense.

Eastern Illinois was able to pick up a much-needed win against UT-Martin, however, this is still one of the worst teams in College Basketball this season as the Panthers have really struggled in all aspects of the game. Tennessee State isn’t a great team, however, they have an offense that should be able to put up some points against the Panthers and as I think Tennessee State wins this one by double-digits, I’m taking the Tigers to cover this spread. Good Luck!