Eastern Illinois vs Lindenwood 12/29/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Lindenwood Lions and the Eastern Illinois Panthers meet Thursday in college basketball action from Lantz Arena. Lindenwood is 5-8 on the season and fresh off a loss to Utah Tech. As for Eastern Illinois, they’re 4-9 this year. The Panthers beat Iowa in their last game. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Lindenwood managed to go 2-4 over their first six games, beating only Hannibal-LaGrange and McNeese State. It’s been a 3-4 run since then featuring losses to Illinois, UMKC, BYU and Utah Tech in that span. 

In the Utah Tech game last Thursday, the Lions were blown out 52-24 in the first half. Lindenwood didn’t end up getting any closer in a 95-64 loss. Chris Childs put up 15 points to lead the team, and Brandon Trimble added 14 points.

Over on the Eastern Illinois side, they lost seven of their first eight games, taking a win over only SMWC. The Panthers are 3-2 in their last five outings with wins over Blackburn, IUPUI and Iowa alongside losses to Ball State and Western Illinois. 

Last Wednesday versus Iowa, Eastern Illinois trailed 45-37 by the break. The Panthers hit a 55-38 second-half run to seal the comeback win 92-83. Kinyon Hodges was the top scorer on 22 points with six assists. 

PICK: I’ll probably stay with Eastern Illinois. Also probably not going near this one. The Panthers struggled mightily in the first part of the season. That said, Eastern Illinois has rebounded pretty well over the last five games. the Panthers ended up shooting 60 percent from the field with a 42-38 rebounding advantage in their upset win over Iowa last week. They’ve hit 70 or more points in three straight games, so Lindenwood will likely have to step on the offensive gas to keep up here. Should be an interesting matchup but I like EIU better cover-wise.