Evansville vs Valparaiso Prediction 2/16/25 College Basketball Picks Today

The Valparaiso Beacons and the Evansville Purple Aces meet Sunday in college basketball action from Ford Center. Here’s an Evansville vs Valparaiso prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Evansville vs Valparaiso pick.

Valparaiso Beacons Betting Preview

The Beacons got off to a pretty solid start that lasted into January. Since then it’s been a pretty rough run, though. Valparaiso won 10 of their first 16 games, taking losses to Liberty, Cleveland State, DePaul, Drake, Ohio State, and Bradley in that time. The wins otherwise were over Concordia-Ann Arbor, Lindenwood, Eastern Illinois, Northern Illinois, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Calumet College, Missouri State, Northern Iowa, and Indiana State. After a rough losing streak versus Murray State, Belmont, UIC, Drake, Evansville, Southern Illinois, Illinois State, Indiana State, and Murray State, Valparaiso finally stopped the bleeding with a win over Belmont. That gives the Beacons an 11-15 record through 26 games this year so far.

On Wednesday in the Belmont game, the Beacons hit a 56-39 advantage in the first half. Valparaiso kept the pace pretty well from there with another 45 points and eventually took the upset win at home 101-86. Leading the team with a double-double was Cooper Schwieger with 27 points, 13 rebounds and two assists with three blocks. All Wright posted 20 points with three rebounds and three assists, while Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro put up 19 points with five rebounds and two steals, going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line along the way.

Evansville Purple Aces Betting Preview

Over on the Aces’ side, they’ve had a few good runs at various points in the year but overall they’ve been struggling hard in the record column. Evansville lost nine of their first dozen outings, falling to North Texas, Middle Tennessee, Radford, Ohio State, Murray State, Western Kentucky, Chattanooga, Texas Arlington, and Ball State in that time. The wins otherwise were over only Brescia, Green Bay, and Campbell. After three wins in four games over Missouri State, Southern Illinois, and Illinois State, the Aces fell to Drake, Northern Iowa, Belmont, and UIC in the next quartet. Since then it’s been wins over Valparaiso, Murray State, and Belmont ahead of losses to Southern Illinois, Bradley, and Missouri State. In total that makes a 9-17 overall run for the Aces through 26 games so far this season.

Matched up against Missouri State on Wednesday, the Aces took a 10-point deficit into the second half. Evansville didn’t end up getting any closer on a 35-28 run from there and ended up losing 71-54. Tayshawn Comer led the team in the defeat with his 17 points, four rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Connor Turnbull added 13 points with five rebounds, and Gabriel Pozzato chipped in with 12 points, four rebounds, and three steals in 38 minutes of work.

Why the Evansville Purple Aces will win

• Valparaiso has lost nine of its last 10 games.
• Evansville has won each of its last three games against Valparaiso.
• Valparaiso has lost the first half in each of its last five road games against the Missouri Valley Conference.

Why the Valparaiso Beacons will win

• Evansville has lost five of its last six night games.
• The road team has won six of Evansville’s last eight games.
• Evansville has lost the first half in each of its last six night games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Evansville vs Valparaiso Prediction

I’ll just stick with Valparaiso. There’s not a lot to get excited about here if you’re not a fan of either team, though. The Beacons are coming off a nice win versus Belmont though, shooting a stellar 56.9 percent from the field with a 35-25 rebounding edge and 25-of-26 (96.2 percent) from the line. It was a pretty great overall win and represents the Beacons’ potential ceiling. Prior to that, however, Valparaiso had lost nine straight, giving up 74 or more points in eight of those defeats.

The Beacons took a loss 78-68 at home the last time these teams saw each other back on January 25. Valparaiso got off to a very slow start in that one and ended up shooting just 38.6 percent from the field with a 36-31 rebounding deficit. The Aces shot 58 percent on the other side but did cough up 21 turnovers. Valparaiso has to be a lot better in the road rematch, but I think they’ve got it in them.